Neverisms
by Fifilla
Summary: Inspired by "Neverisms – A quotation lover's guide to things you should never do, never say, or never forget" by Dr. Mardy Grothe. So, here's my try on some little one shots, mainly featuring Steve and Danny, there will be whump, friendship and bromance, hurt/comfort, humor… but definitely no slash because that's not where I see our two lovely guys.
1. Never neglect details

**Neverisms**

Inspired by "Neverisms – A quotation lover's guide to things you should never do, never say, or never forget" by Dr. Mardy Grothe. The little book has been sitting on my nightstand for a few months now and so many of the quotations in there were just screaming at me to write something. So, here's my try on some little one shots, mainly featuring Steve and Danny, there will be whump, friendship and bromance, hurt/comfort, humor… but definitely no slash because that's not where I see our two lovely guys.

**Disclaimer:  
**Unfortunately I don't own anything of Hawaii Five-0, it all belongs to CBS. But I wouldn't mind at all sharing my couch with the Five-0 team – feel free to come around whenever you like.

**Notes:  
**English is not my native language, so please forgive me my mistakes.

**Thanks:  
****sherry57**, thank you so much for betaing, I owe you :-) Merci beaucoup, ma chérie!

* * *

"_Never neglect details."  
(Colin Powell)_

* * *

Danny thought it was quite strange how the human mind would pick on small, unimportant details while coping with a stressful and possibly life-threatening situation.

Crouching behind a long row of utterly bright green bushes, Danny ducked his head as a hail of bullets whooshed through the air only a hand's width above Steve's dark hair. In the few seconds before his partner gave the sign to move on toward their perp-of-the-week – this time a middle aged farmer who felt the need to protect his illegal cannabis plantation somewhere in the dense rainforests of Oahu by force of arms – Danny's eyes darted around and he took in his surroundings with a clarity that almost took his breath away.

All at once he noticed a bunch of funny little details: a small, irregular, brown coffee stain on his left sleeve, a strange black and orange striped insect buzzing around his head, the graying hair on Steve's temples, the filigree veins on one of the green leaves right beside his body.

"You ready?" Steve whispered, turning his head to throw a quick look at his partner.

"Not at all, Steven," Danny whispered back, agitatedly waving his hands around as far as the limited space of their cover allowed. "I'm telling you, this is one of your stupider ideas. Why the hurry? Let's just wait for proper backup, HPD, a SWAT team, whatever. This bumbling idiot who thinks it was wise to build his dope farm in the middle of a frequented natural reserve certainly won't go anywhere in the next few minutes."

"He shot at us, Danny," Steve said matter-of-factly, as if this statement would discount all of Danny's concerns in the blink of an eye. "What if we were a bunch of clueless hikers that just came by?"

"But we are just that!" Danny puffed out in exasperation, referring to the fact that the entire Five-0 team had decided to spent their spare Saturday going on a little, easy hike to show Danny some apparently spectacular Hawaiian waterfalls. Flicking his left wrist, his forefinger danced between Steve and himself as he tried to make his point clear. "Right now, we're just some hikers who happen to be police officers. But we have absolutely no equipment, no vests, no weapons, …" Noticing Steve's raised eyebrows, he relented grumpily, "Yeah, okay, we have weapons, because you are the only human being that is crazy enough not to bring one weapon on a simple hike but also a spare gun in your ankle holster. You know that this Rambo behavior of yours is totally and completely insane?"

"Kono also brought her gun," McGarrett replied, an amused smirk on his lips. He looked over to some large trees about fifty feet away from their position, where Kono and Chin had gone for cover, waiting impatiently for his sign to move on.

"That's because our rookie is just as lolo as you are," Danny said, ignoring Steve's surprised expression at his genuine use of Hawaiian lingo.

"Are you done now, Danno?" McGarrett brightly grinned down at his partner, who just was about to reluctantly release the safety catch of his borrowed weapon. "Come on, the plan is good – and besides, we outnumber him four to one."

"Yeah, well? What's the point?" Williams asked, throwing his friend a wry look. "One bullet is enough, I don't care if he's alone or bringing a whole crowd of equally demented friends. I still think we should wait for proper backup."

"On three," Steve said cheerfully, ignoring Danny's objection as he slapped his hand on the other man's shoulder. Then he turned around, quietly counting to three and simultaneously gestured the numbers with his left hand so that Chin and Kono were able to follow his countdown.

Danny pressed his lips together, nervously waiting until Chin and Kono distracted the armed dope farmer just enough that Steve and Danny were able to leave their cover and approach the man from behind.

"Now," McGarrett whispered, darting from behind the bushes, trusting that Danny would follow wherever he was leading him.

"Crazy sonofabitch," Danny whispered through gritted teeth, but he couldn't prevent the touch of awe at the sight of his partner in full SEAL mode, his one and only intention to neutralize the enemy.

Even if he'd never admit it, Danny was fairly sure that Steve's plan would actually have worked… if they had not missed one tiny little detail. A detail that now leaped to Danny's eye in form of a reflection, the unmistakable metallic glance of a gun in the sunlight.

"Get down," he yelled, at the same time tackling his partner, just when the first sound of a gunshot was heard from the rainforest somewhere to the right of them.

Williams crashed into the larger man, the momentum of the impact sent them to the ground, clinging to each other they tumbled and rolled, finally coming to a halt at the bottom of a small slope. Groaning with pain, Danny tried to crawl out from underneath Steve's body, he wasn't sure where he hurt most, and Steve's too many pounds of pure muscles pressing against his ribs surely didn't help to make him feel better.

With half an ear Danny noticed that the shooting had stopped only moments after it had begun, he was faintly aware of Chin's and Kono's firm voices, telling the shooters to drop their weapons and surrender. He allowed himself a relieved sigh, except for a few bruises from the collision with his batshit crazy partner, everything seemed to be alright. Very slowly he could feel a tentative smile creep across his lips.

Struggling to his feet, Danny was surprised to find Steve already standing in front of him. For a moment they stared silently at each other before Williams' gaze dropped and the smile was wiped from his face in the blink of an eye.

"Shit! You alright? You're bleeding, a lot!" Danny exclaimed worriedly, his hands grabbing the front of Steve's blood-soaked T-shirt, the red stains clearly visible on the white fabric. He felt a little bit dizzy at the sight of so much blood. "What the hell did you do this time? Where does that come from? Did he hit you?"

Danny shook his head to get rid of the strange buzzing that slowly started to sound in his ears just a heartbeat ago. "I can't let you out of sight for two seconds, Steven, you're really a trouble magnet. Oh no, wait, not a trouble magnet, rather a magnet for bullets, knives and other dangerous bullshit. Did I or did I not tell you that the plan wouldn't work? Why for heaven's sake didn't we wait for backup?"

Noticing astonished that his fingers were trembling violently as he tried to lift Steve's T-shirt in search of the source of the bleeding, Williams rapidly blinked a few times against the sweat that threatened to run into his eyes. The air around him was suddenly much too hot and thick, he had real trouble catching his breath.

Danny felt Steve's fingers around his forearms, he wanted to say something, to tell his partner to sit down because loosing such an amount of blood was definitely not good. But the words just slipped from his grasp, irritated he raised his eyes to meet Steve's gaze.

What the hell was wrong with him? Surely he wouldn't faint like a school girl at the sight of a little bit of blood? Or well, a lot of blood, but anyway.

Danny saw the strange expression on McGarrett's face, felt fingers dig into his skin, noticed that Steve's lips were moving, but he couldn't make out a single word above the buzzing in his ears. He was sure he was missing something vital here but he just wasn't able to put a finger on it.

Damn, that couldn't be, his partner was injured, bleeding, he needed help and all Danny was able to do was stare at him, hoping that his wobbly legs would carry his weight. Frowning, Danny tried to pull himself together, he needed to stop the bleeding, he needed to help his partner, he was supposed to be the backup.

Black dots were now dancing in his vision and despite all efforts to remain upright he felt his knees buckle.

And then suddenly the buzzing in his ears stopped, the noises around him were as clear as they were supposed to be and the last thing he heard before everything became dark, cold and silent was Steve's terrified voice, delivering the last missing detail about what was going on.

"That's not my blood, Danny, it's yours!"

* * *

The unmistakable smell of antiseptics was the first of many little details that told him that he was in a hospital.

Danny groaned inwardly, trying to remember what the hell brought him here. Frowning slightly, his eyes still tightly closed, he finally became aware of the dull ache that throbbed through his side and together with the pain, the memories of a hike, a cannabis plantation, a shootout and an obvious failed plan crashed down on him.

The frown on his forehead deepened when he noticed something heavy covering his left hand. That together with the soft snoring that reached his ears told him that he was apparently not alone but that someone was keeping vigil at his bedside.

Biting back another groan, Danny slowly peeled open his eyes, blinking a few times until he got a clear view of his surroundings. He turned his head, noticing his sleeping partner slumped down in one of those uncomfortable white plastic chairs, his legs outstretched, his unshaven chin sunken to his chest. Steve still wore the same T-shirt as the last time Danny had seen him, the white fabric stained with dried blood, the dark circles under Steve's eyes telling their own story of wait and worry.

Danny licked his dry lips as he let his gaze travel along Steve's body, noticing with astonishment and quite a bit of embarrassment that the weight he felt was indeed Steve's left hand that covered his own.

"What the hell you think you are doing?" he asked hoarsely, not at all trying to hide the smirk that appeared on his face when Steve awoke with a start, jumping up as if someone had put a grenade under his chair.

"What?" McGarrett asked confused, his eyes darting wildly across the room until his gaze settled down on Danny's prone form. "God, Danny, you're awake."

"Wow, what an outstanding observation," Danny replied, rolling his eyes. "You didn't answer my question."

"What question?" Steve asked, even more confused than before. "How do you feel? You okay?"

Ignoring his partner's babbled questions, Danny raised his left hand, drawing small circles in the air as he illustrated, "The question was, why the hell you were holding my hand. The last time I checked we were neither married nor in a romantic relationship, so you care to explain why you felt the need to hold my hand? I also don't feel like I'm going to die in the near future, so what's next? You declaring your undying love for me?"

"What?" Blinking a few times, Steve hesitantly took a step closer to the bed.

"God, Steven, can't you say anything other than 'what'?" Not giving his partner the chance to answer that question, Danny asked swiftly, "Could you please raise the bed? I want to sit up a bit. And then maybe you'd be kind enough to tell me what happened."

Danny grimaced slightly when the pain in his abdomen flared up, his hand involuntarily covering his right side, he could now feel the tight bandage around his lower ribcage. Briefly squinting his eyes shut, he breathed deeply in an out a few times until the pain retreated to a bearable level.

He heard a faint rustle of clothes and when he opened his eyes again, Danny saw that Steve was sitting back down on the chair beside the bed. Closely watching his friend, he noticed a few details that clearly told him that something wasn't alright. Firstly, Steve was avoiding any direct eye contact, something he was normally never shy of. Then the Ex-SEAL was nervously fidgeting in his chair, clenching and unclenching his fingers a few times before he obviously realized the weird movement and crossed his arms firmly in front of his chest.

Danny grinned smugly, he had a fairly good idea what was going on inside the other man. The signs were quite obvious and a blinking, colorful sign above Steve's head, reading GUILT wouldn't have been any clearer.

After a few moments, when it was evident that Steve had no intention of starting a conversation, Danny decided to take matters into his own hands. "So, I've been shot at?" he asked, adding an annoyed 'again' in his mind. "Care to elaborate why?"

Steve's head jerked up, his gaze flickered to meet Danny's but he quickly looked away. Mumbling something under his breath, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, tiredly hiding his face in his hands.

"Sorry, what was that?" Danny asked, keeping his eyes glued to his partner.

His hands still covering his face, Steve heaved a distressed sigh, his voice muffled as he said, "You were right, we should have waited for proper backup." Pulling himself together, he straightened his shoulders, taking another deep breath, he finally looked Danny straight in the eye. "It was my fault, I'm sorry, Danny. I missed some important details, I should have made sure that the man was alone."

"Yeah, well, too late now," Williams said, slightly shrugging his shoulders. "I don't like hiking anyway, so the whole incident spared me the walk back." Once again running his hand over the bandaged wound in his side, he asked half-joking and half-serious, "I don't feel too bad so I assume I still have all my vital organs?"

Chuckling cautiously, Steve quickly nodded as he started to share all the information Danny's doctor had given him earlier, "The bullet grazed your side, cracking a rib on its way. No organ damage, they just needed to stitch you up. Doc said you're allowed to leave later this afternoon but you have to take it easy the next few days."

"Oh, thanks for that clipped summary, Steven. You make it sound like it was a walk in the park," Danny said grumpily.

"Or a hike in the park," McGarrett murmured more to himself than to his friend, smiling apologetically when he noticed the scowl on Danny's face.

"Not funny, McGarrett," Danny puffed out, glaring half-heartedly at his partner.

The two men kept silent for a moment, tentatively grinning at each other until Danny raised his brows at the sight of Steve's appearance and asked quietly, "How long have you been here?"

"Since you were brought in," Steve replied, throwing a brief look at his watch. "Uhm… almost eight hours."

"And in all this time, you didn't find a few minutes to change your shirt?" Danny asked, shaking his head about so much craziness. "You look like an animal, Steven. I suggest you finally go home and clean up." Cutting short any upcoming protest with a sharp wave of his hands, he comfortably leaned back into the pillows as he added with a stifled yawn, "I'm fine, okay? I'll take another nap and then I expect you to pick me up when I'm ready to be released."

Steve nodded slowly, hesitantly heading toward the door. He put his hand on the doorknob but instead of leaving the room, he turned around, facing his partner. "Are you alright?" he asked timidly.

"Didn't I just tell you that I'm fine? Did the last grenade you used to blow up some innocent, little thug mess with your hearing?" Danny asked back. He already guessed what Steve really wanted to know, but after what had happened he decided that he'd earned a little bit of fun; and it was definitely fun to see his friend fidgeting nervously, searching for the right words.

"That's not what I meant," McGarrett finally uttered frustrated.

"That's not what you meant?" Danny repeated, throwing Steve an expectant look. "Well, even if I do know a lot, Steve, I have no idea how to read somebody's mind. So, perhaps it's about time that you learn proper articulation."

Taking a deep breath, Steve casted his eyes to the floor, intensely studying the grayish PVC coating. "I meant… are you… are we good?"

"I don't know, are we good?" Williams swiftly retorted.

Keeping Steve in suspense, Danny enjoyed the nervous fidgeting for another few seconds before he took pity on the other man. Sighing silently, he said distinctly, "If you promise to wait for proper backup in the future, that there won't be another round of 'Oh, come on, it's a nice, boring Saturday morning, let's get Danny shot at', then I think we're good."

Slowly raising his head, Steve locked eyes with Danny, not trying to hide the emotions that clearly colored his expression. He swallowed once, then he nodded solemnly, "I'll try to be more reasonable the next time, okay?"

Closely studying his friend for a long moment, Danny finally started to smile. "Okay," he nodded back.

If he read all those tiny little details right, Steve's tensed posture, the dark circles under his eyes, the expression on his face that showed not only guilt but also a good amount of fear and worry, then maybe Steve was really serious.

Maybe – if Danny was damn lucky – there wouldn't be a next time…


	2. Never underestimate the cunning of

**Notes:  
**The following story is an extended scene with additional whump for episode 1x10 "Heihei".  
When I watched the episode again a few weeks ago, I found it very strange that Steve and Danny went after a dangerous suspect (a man who was supposed to be responsible for an armored car heist with two dead and who just tried to kill off the only eyewitness) without even drawing their weapons.

**Disclaimer:**  
The usual - I own nothing, just having fun...

**Thanks:  
**Many thanks to **JazzieG** for betaing! :-)

* * *

"_Never underestimate the cunning of your opponent."  
(Anonymus)_

* * *

"Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams? I'm Meredith Michaels, Channel 9 News. Do you have any leads on the armored car heist?"

For a long moment Steve just scowled at the Asian woman in front of him and at the microphone she was holding right into his face. He and Danny had just arrived at Hawaii Medical Center to talk to Jordan Townsend, the only witness of the brutal heist with two dead that took place only a few hours ago in downtown Waikiki.

Exchanging a brief look with his partner, McGarrett defensively raised his right hand before he angrily looked back at the woman. "No comment," he growled, already resuming his pace toward the entrance of the hospital building, totally ignoring the cameraman who was filming him and Danny.

"What's the press even doing here?" Danny asked curiously when the reporter held out her left hand, causing the two men to stop once more in front of her.

"We're going live in ten minutes," the woman explained, her gaze hopefully flickering between Steve and Danny. "I'm hoping to get a comment from Jordan Townsend, the surviving guard."

Once more exchanging glances with Steve, Danny waved his right hand toward the camera. "Okay, turn that off, please," he ordered quietly, at the same time pushing down the microphone that was still pointed toward them. From the corner of his eyes he noticed that Steve also gestured the cameraman to stop filming, waiting a short moment until he was sure that the device was turned off.

Anger bubbled up in Danny and he gritted his teeth about the impertinence of the press, feeling the same amount of tension radiating from his partner who stood next to him with arms akimbo, silently glaring at the reporter.

Taking a deep breath, Danny pressed his palms together and gestured sharply as he exclaimed agitatedly, "All right, Jordan Townsend is a potential witness for a double homicide, okay? The people that did this, they do not want him to talk. You understand that?" Becoming more and more furious with every word he said, he added hoarsely, "You putting his name out there, it only puts his safety at risk."

Throwing Danny a surprised look the Asian woman shook her head slightly as she replied, "Jordan's condition was reported from the crime scene three hours ago."

Without waiting for another explanation, Steve ducked between the cameraman and the reporter and swiftly jogged toward the hospital building, his right hand hovering over the handle of his weapon, trusting Danny to follow him immediately.

The second floor that the two men reached only a few minutes later was buzzing with hectic activity, nursing staff in blue scrubs and doctors in white coats crowded the corridor. Most of them seemed to head toward Jordan Townsend's room and Steve's and Danny's worst fears that something had happened to their witness were confirmed when they heard the loudspeaker announcement.

"_Room 218, code blue, code blue, room 218._"

Stepping through a swing door and turning around a corner, they saw one of the nurses pushing an emergency cart into Jordan's room while another nurse in flowered scrubs just led Jordan's heavily pregnant wife to a row of seats.

"The doctor said everything was fine… I just went and got some coffee… What happened in five minutes?" Camille Townsend stammered with tears in her eyes, firmly grabbing the cup of coffee in her hands while her panicked gaze traveled between her husband and the nurse in front of her.

Closely scanning the corridor for anything unusual, Steve and Danny slowly walked past Jordan's room without taking the time to stop and see what was going on there. Most of the people were coming their way, they could see a lot of medical staff in blue scrubs but also a few white clothed doctors, most of them seemed to head for Jordan Townsend's room.

Coming to a halt, Steve hesitantly raised his right hand, pointing his index finger at a man at the other end of the corridor who determinedly walked toward the exit, his gaze fixed at the floor while he fiddled with his blue gloves, apparently oblivious to all the activity around him.

"Did you catch that?" Steve asked, narrowing his eyes as he stared after the man.

"Yeah, why is he wearing a mask?" Danny replied as he stopped next to his partner, referring to the fact that the man was wearing not only blue scrubs and gloves but also a cap and a mask that was covering most of his face.

"Hey, excuse me, doctor?" Steve called out loudly, but the man didn't stop his pace, he simply turned around and pushed the swing door at the end of the corridor open by leaning his back against it while he slipped off his gloves. For a second he locked eyes with Steve but then the moment was gone and he disappeared without a word around the next corner.

"Sir? Sir, I'm talking to you," McGarrett tried once more to stop the man while he already circled the nurses' desk and chased after the suspect, Danny following hot on his heels.

Almost running down a nurse who pushed a large cart through the swing door, Steve rushed along the corridor, but when he rounded the next corner he just saw their suspect disappear into the elevator. The man was still wearing his blue outfit, the dark eyes above the mask tauntingly staring at Steve when the elevator doors closed with a silent hiss only a moment before Steve and Danny were close enough to interfere.

The sound of the elevator bell rang mockingly in their ears and without losing any time, Steve pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, pointing his right hand at the lit arrow above the closed doors.

"Be my eyes," he said breathlessly, looking first at his phone and then at his partner. Not waiting for an answer, he swiftly turned around and headed for the metal door that led to the staircase, leaving Danny alone in front of the elevator, staring at the flashing numbers on the display.

Taking three or four steps at a time, Steve rushed upstairs, grabbing the banister with his right hand while he pressed his phone to his ear with his other hand.

"Okay, three… four… five…" he heard his partner tell him as he tried to increase his speed, silently hoping that he wouldn't have to go all the way to the top floor. "Five. He stopped at five," Danny suddenly exclaimed nervously and Steve allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

Only a moment later he pushed open the green metal door that led to the fifth floor and walked around the corner toward the elevators, trying to catch his breath. Steve heard the familiar sound of the elevator bell and the silent hiss of the opening doors and he just caught a glimpse of blue before without any warning a shot reverberated loudly through the deserted corridor.

The first bullet hit his right bicep, the force of the impact made him stumble backwards slightly but despite the searing pain in his arm McGarrett reached for his weapon, instinctively dodging to the left to avoid the second bullet that dug itself into the wall behind him, sending small pieces of plaster and concrete through the air. He thought he heard Danny's voice over the cell phone that he unconsciously still clutched in his left hand but he didn't have time to give any kind of answer at the moment.

"Five-0, drop the weapon," Steve yelled at the man in the elevator, but before he was able to fire his own gun he heard the third shot at the same time as he felt his head snapping backwards. His world exploded into pain, for the blink of an eye there was nothing but a blinding white flash before everything went completely dark and he felt and heard and saw nothing more.

* * *

"Five. He stopped at five," Danny shouted into his cell phone, his eyes glued to the flashing red number above the closed elevator doors.

Listening to Steve's labored breathing over the phone he turned around and headed for the staircase to follow his partner upstairs. Danny had just reached the first landing between level two and three when he heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot, simultaneously over the still open line to Steve and a bit more muffled echoing through the deserted staircase. The sound made his blood run cold and he almost tripped over the next step, at the last second grabbing the banister to prevent a fall.

"Steve?" Danny shouted into the cell phone, picking up speed as he raced further upstairs. "Steve, what's wrong?"

But instead of an answer Danny just heard another shot, then his partner's voice, ordering the shooter to put down his weapon. There was a third shot and then a soft moan followed by the distinctive sound of a human body hitting the floor.

"Steve?" Danny asked again breathlessly while he rushed past the fourth floor, grimacing with pain when the dull throbbing in his right knee reminded him that he got rid of the cane only a few weeks ago and that racing up the stairs right into a gunfight was certainly not what the doctor had prescribed.

Anxiously stowing the cell phone away in his pocket when he finally reached the fifth floor Danny took a few deep breaths before he drew his weapon and silently opened the green metal door. Cautiously looking left and right he slowly walked along the corridor, his weapon at the ready when he headed toward the elevator. The corridor was deadly silent, nothing indicated that only mere moments ago a gunfight had taken place right here.

The first thing Danny noticed when he cautiously peeked around the next corner was the open elevator doors and the bundle of clothes that obviously blocked the light barrier, preventing the doors from closing. Except for the blue scrubs on the floor the elevator was totally empty, no sign of their suspect far and wide, it was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth – or rather through the open skylight in the roof of the elevator cabin.

Smothering a frustrated curse Danny swiftly rounded the corner and the image that greeted him there would probably forever be etched on his memory.

His partner was half lying, half sitting on the floor, slumped against the wall opposite to the elevator. Steve's eyes were closed, his head had dropped to his chest. Rivers of blood were pouring down his face and into the collar of his black polo shirt, the source obviously a nasty wound on the top of his head. The fingers of his left hand were still limply curled around his cell phone while Steve's SIG Sauer lay uselessly in the pool of blood that was slowly forming beneath his right arm.

For the blink of an eye Danny was frozen in shock, staring down at the still form of his partner but then he stowed his weapon away in one swift move and rushed forward. Calling out for help he fell down on his knees at Steve's side, not caring in the slightest that the blood was soaking his dark blue slacks.

"Help, I need help," he shouted hoarsely as he pressed his fingers against Steve's neck, desperately searching for a pulse.

"Oh, thank God," Danny breathed out a moment later when he felt a surprisingly strong rhythm beneath his fingertips.

Noticing a movement from the corner of his eyes, he briefly averted his gaze from his partner and looked up just in time to see a young nurse exiting one of the rooms on the corridor. The girl, not older than maybe eighteen or nineteen, stopped dead in her tracks when she took in the amount of blood, raising a trembling hand to cover her mouth.

"Go, get a doctor, hurry up," Danny instructed firmly, but the nurse just stood there, staring wide-eyed at the scene that played in front of her.

"NOW!" Danny yelled angrily, causing her to jump in surprise before she nodded hesitantly and turned on her heels.

Shifting his attention back to his unconscious partner, Danny took a deep breath, trying to decide on the best way to help Steve until help arrived. The wound on his right bicep was bleeding sluggishly, but not enough to be of major concern, so he left it alone for the moment and concentrated instead on the heavily bleeding head wound.

Danny felt nausea rising in his throat at the thought that Steve had obviously been shot in the head. His fingers, red and sticky with his partner's blood, were trembling visibly when he carefully touched Steve's hair, trying to find the source of the bleeding.

A soft moan interrupted his examination but before Danny was able to address the unconscious man, he was pushed back by a bunch of doctors and nurses and the formerly so quiet corridor was suddenly filled with hectic voices. Hesitantly stepping backwards, Danny leaned his back against the nearest wall to support his shaky legs as he stared down at his partner, watching in morbid fascination how the pool of blood beneath Steve's body became bigger and bigger with every passing second.

He didn't know how much time had passed when out of nowhere two nurses wheeled in a gurney and before Danny could ask about Steve's condition his partner had been strapped onto it and rushed along the corridor and into one of the rooms. The hectic activity around Danny disappeared as abruptly as it had begun. Furrowing his brow, he stared into the now empty corridor, only distantly aware that someone was talking to him. Blinking slowly, he looked down, astonished at the slender hand that had been placed on his shoulder.

"Sir? Are you alright?"

Heaving a deep sigh, Danny tried to concentrate on the words he'd just heard and when he finally raised his gaze he looked directly into the face of the same young nurse he had sent for help only a few minutes ago.

"Sir?" the young woman repeated, timidly shaking Danny's shoulder to get his attention.

Briefly squeezing his eyes shut, Danny cleared his throat before he locked eyes with the nurse. "Where did they take him?" he asked hoarsely, not caring that all the worry and fear for his partner was showing in those five little words.

"He is in good hands now, don't worry," the woman tried to calm him, her small hand still firmly placed on his shoulder as she gave him a sympathetic smile. "Come on, I'll show you where you can clean yourself up and I'm sure after that the doctor will already have some news about your friend."

"What?" Danny asked confused, narrowing his eyes as he tried to make sense out of her words.

"The blood," she explained softly, pointing at his hands that were still covered with his partner's blood. "Come on, there's a bathroom over there," she added as she gently pushed him toward a door a few steps away.

* * *

Two and a half hours later, Danny was still waiting for any news on his partner.

In the meantime he had called Chin and Kono, updating them about the current situation. He was immensely glad that they had immediately agreed to come to the hospital, taking care of collecting evidence and trying to follow the suspect's lead but the man had literally disappeared into thin air. All they had been able to do was take the clothes he'd left behind to the lab but so far no results had come up from there.

Looking down at his intertwined fingers, Danny wrinkled his nose at the sickening smell of the antiseptic soap that still clung to his hands after he had washed off Steve's blood, placing disturbing thoughts of injury and death in his mind and actually making him a bit nauseous. The blood on his pants had dried a long time ago; fortunately the stains were barely visible against the dark blue fabric. However, the sticky feeling of the dried blood was not very comfortable but Danny had strictly refused to change into one of those ridiculous hospital gowns. He would just ignore the icky feeling until he got the chance to head home and change into clean clothes.

The waiting room was almost empty, except Danny only one other person was sitting in the far away corner of the room, a young man in his mid-twenties, oblivious to his surroundings as he softly nodded his head to the rhythm of the music that poured out of his headphones.

Danny's nervousness was almost palpable by now and the more time passed without any news the more he was convinced that Steve was really seriously injured – or even worse. The image of his partner, motionless and covered in blood, was playing in his mind over and over again and Danny knew deep in his heart that not even SuperSEAL would survive a shot to the head without any damage.

Covering his face in his hands Danny heaved a deep sigh, looking up when he finally heard the door open and a gray-haired, tired looking doctor scuffed into the room.

"Detective Williams?" he asked quietly, but Danny had already jumped to his feet, anxiously approaching the middle-aged man.

"That's me," Danny confirmed with a little nod of his head, trying to read the doctor's expression. Taking a deep breath he gathered all his courage and prepared himself for the worst, "How's Steve?"

"Commander McGarrett is asking for you," the doctor replied and the smile that appeared on his face instantly made him look ten years younger.

"He is… what?" Danny stammered, furrowing his brow in confusion. Hearing that his partner was awake and talking was definitely the last thing he'd expected. Shaking his head slightly, Danny swallowed dryly, staring into the doctor's hazel eyes as he asked hoarsely, "So… he's alright?"

"He was very lucky," the doctor confirmed, gesturing Danny to sit down when he noticed that the cop seemed to be a bit wobbly on his legs.

Running both of his hands over his hair, Danny plopped down into the nearest chair, giving the other man a grateful nod. "He's really alright?" Danny repeated slowly, searching the doctor's face for any hint that there might follow a big, fat 'but'. Hesitantly pointing at his own head he asked, "But he was shot in the head, wasn't he? I mean… I'm not sure I understand…" Danny stared at the doctor in complete bewilderment, impatiently waiting for an explanation.

"As I said, the Commander is a very lucky man," the gray-haired doctor replied as he took a seat face-to-face with Danny. "The gunshot wound to his right arm was only a minor issue with minimal muscle damage; we removed the bullet and cleaned the wound. As for the headshot…" His voice trailed off as he shook his head slightly, a distant smile playing around his lips. "I can honestly say that I've never seen anything like that before, not once in my entire career," the doctor said softly. He took a deep breath and the smile on his face bloomed when he locked eyes with Danny. "The bullet actually hit right here, high on Commander McGarrett's forehead," he explained, pointing his finger at his own hairline. "But for some reason, instead of going right through the cranial bone, the bullet was deflected and travelled a short way right under the scalp along the bone before it exited high on his head." The doctor moved his finger along his skull right to the top of his head to demonstrate his explanations.

Staring open-mouthed at the older man, Danny tried to process what the doctor had just told him and finally he felt how the tension of the last few hours hesitantly left his body.

"We had to stitch up the wound, but apart from a very mild concussion and a nasty headache the Commander is fine and free to go," the doctor said, shrugging his shoulders as if he couldn't believe his own words.

"You are kidding, right?" Danny finally had found his voice, giving vent to his feelings by waving his hands through the air in large circles, shaking his head in disbelief as he repeated, "He was shot in the head and you're telling me that he is fine and free to go?"

"See it for yourself," the older man chuckled as he stood up and gestured toward the door.

Following the doctor outside Danny still couldn't believe what he just heard and he was shaking his head all the way to Steve's room. Leave it to his batshit crazy partner to be shot in the head and walk away with nothing but a headache.

"Here it is," the gray-haired doctor said when they finally came to a halt in front of a closed door at the end of a long corridor. "As I said, he's free to go. Just make sure he's taking it easy the next few days. I prescribed some painkillers but if the headache gets worse or if it lasts longer than two days he needs to come back immediately, okay?"

"Okay doc, thank you," Danny replied, itching to finally see for himself that his partner was alive and breathing.

Taking a deep breath, Danny battled with himself for a brief moment if he should knock but then he simply opened the door and nonchalantly strolled into the room.

Steve was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees and his face hidden in his hands, wearing the same clothes as the last time Danny had seen him. There were a few spots of dried blood on the right side of his beige cargo pants but the black color of his polo shirt did the same good job as Danny's slacks when it came to hiding the bloodstains that were certainly there. The shoelaces of Steve's beige work boots were untied, Danny assumed that the headache was bothering him too much to bend down low enough to tie them.

A clean white bandage peeked out under the right sleeve of Steve's shirt and with his head tilted forward Danny got a good glance at the long row of stitches on the top of his partner's head.

"Hey Frankenstein, that look suits you," he said cheerfully as he quietly closed the door behind him.

Steve's head jerked up at the sound of Danny's voice but the movement proved to be a little bit too enthusiastic and he squeezed his eyes shut when a wave of pain rushed through his skull. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to choke down a pained groan, but much to his shame he wasn't really successful. Feeling a hand on his left shoulder, Steve cautiously opened his eyes, looking directly in his partner's worried face.

"Hey, you alright?" Danny asked concerned when he took in Steve's pale complexion, gently squeezing his shoulder. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay, I'm fine," Steve replied wearily. "Just a really nasty headache," he continued at the sight of the frustrated scowl on Danny's face.

"Feels like someone blew my brains out," McGarrett added with a small chuckle after a short moment of silence. He slowly reached down to lace his shoes, awkwardly trying not to move his head too much.

"That's not funny, Steven," Danny growled, crouching down in front of the other man when he noticed the lines of pain on Steve's forehead. "Leave that alone," he murmured, swatting Steve's hands away as he started to tie his partner's shoelaces.

"Thanks," Steve replied quietly, breathing out a relieved sigh. "Did you get the guy?" he asked curiously just as Danny finished his task and stood up from his crouched position.

"No," Danny answered, shaking his head in frustration. "All we have are his clothes – seems like he escaped through the elevator shaft," he explained their findings and the presumed escape route of the shooter.

"Okay," Steve said slowly, furrowing his brow in concentration when he thought about Danny's words. "Just tell me something, Danno. Who on earth can outrun an elevator, going hand over hand up a cable without any equipment?"

"Besides you? I have no idea," Danny said, heaving a resigned sigh.

Silently nibbling at his lower lip for a moment he once more shook his head in amazement as he locked eyes with his partner. "I think that's really the craziest thing you've done ever since we met each other. You are probably the only person in the whole wide world who gets shot in the head and walks away with nothing but a headache and a few stitches." Slapping Steve on the shoulder, Danny nodded toward the door and said, "Come on, you pighead, let's get out of here. But remind me to ask your doctor if he's really sure that there was no damage to your brain – perhaps there's still a tiny chance that the bullet had set something right and you're finally acting like a normal human being."


	3. Never completely encircle your enemy

**Thanks:  
JazzieG**, thank you so much for taking the time to beta my little story! :-)

* * *

"_Never completely encircle your enemy. Leave him some escape, for he will fight even more desperately if trapped."  
(Alex Haley, advice from the kintango, in Roots (1977))_

* * *

"Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!"

Danny screamed, windmilling his arms in wide circles as far as the constricted space in the driver's cabin allowed, his hands repeatedly hitting the roof and the window. "Stop the car!"

Steve violently jerked the wheel when Danny's unexpected outburst startled him out of his reverie. His heart pounded loudly in his throat as he grabbed the steering wheel tighter, only barely avoiding a collision with a large red truck in the other lane. The silver Camaro swerved dangerously for a few seconds before Steve was able to regain control over the vehicle.

The two men were on their way back from Kailua on the windward coast of Oahu where they had just met Dr. Takashi Nakamura, a retired botany professor and expert in the field of Japanese flora. Five-0 was trying to solve the mystery of five homicides where the only similarity amongst the victims seemed to be the fact that the killer left behind some petals of a rare Japanese flower and Steve and Danny had sought Dr. Nakamura's expertise. The old professor had insisted to hold the conversation in one of his many greenhouses and McGarrett still tried to get the overwhelming scent of roses and lilac out of his nose.

"Stop the car!" Danny yelled again, his voice almost cracking with panic, his hands still erratically waving through the air.

"I can't stop the car, Danny," Steve shouted back, taking a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves. His hands were sweaty and his heart still went a mile a minute after the near miss a few moments ago. "In case you haven't noticed, we are on a Highway, I can't stop right now."

"I don't care where we are, Steven. Stop the car," Williams exclaimed, frantically looking around in the car as he repeatedly ran his hands over his hair. "Stop the damned car. Now!"

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Steve asked angrily, his initial surprise slowly turning into outright annoyance about his partner's irrational behavior. Turning his head to the right he threw a brief look at the other man before he returned his attention to the heavy traffic on the Pali Highway back to Honolulu.

"Where is it?" Danny asked, shaking his head like a wet dog that tried to get the water out of his fur. He grabbed the collar of his blue dress shirt and shook it violently before he repeatedly wiped one hand over the back of his neck. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?" Steve replied, his voice laced with confusion as he asked himself silently if his partner had completely lost his mind. "Danny, you're making absolutely no sense."

Panting heavily, Danny finally ceased from fiddling with his hair and shirt, starting once more to look around in the car with haunted eyes. "Where is it?" he whispered, slowly raising the index finger of his right hand as he cocked his head a little bit to the left and narrowed his eyes. "Can you hear it?"

"Okay, enough of that," Steve huffed, not sure if he should laugh or yell at the other man.

"Sssh," Williams interrupted him, slightly waving his right hand. "I can't hear it anymore."

"You can't hear what, Danny?" McGarrett tried one last time to get a rational answer from his friend but Danny only shook his head ever so slightly before his gaze once more travelled unsteadily across the driver's cabin.

"DANNY," Steve yelled when his patience finally snapped, banging his right hand against the steering wheel. "Knock it off already! If you're trying to drive me crazy, you can stop right now because it worked." Briefly tightening his grip around the wheel until his knuckles were all white, Steve took a deep breath and tried to calm down before he quietly repeated his question, "You can't hear what?"

"The hornet," Danny replied darkly as he suppressed a shiver, unconsciously running his hands through his hair as if he was trying to brush something out of it.

"The… what?" Steve croaked out, turning his head to stare dumbfounded at his partner until a loud, angry honk directed his attention back to the traffic.

"The hornet," Danny repeated impatiently, returning Steve's gaze as he started to gesture animatedly to explain his statement. "The hornet, McGarrett. You know, the big hairy, furry monster that was attacking me only a few moments ago. The wild beast that is the reason I want you to stop the car so I can get out."

There was a short moment of utter silence before Steve laughed out loud, gasping for air as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. "God, Danno, you almost had me there," he panted, slapping his right hand against Danny's shoulder without taking his eyes from the road. "The hornet," he chuckled, shaking his head about the obvious joke. "That's really a first."

"I'm not making fun, Steven," Danny said gravely, the fingers of his right hand slowly curling around the handle of the passenger's door. "There is a huge hornet somewhere in here and I want you to stop the car so I can get out before it stings. Stop the car and drop me off. Now!"

"Okay, Danny, that was really funny, but you can stop now," Steve replied, still chuckling as he sped up and veered the Camaro to the left lane to pass some slower cars. "And for your information – hornets are extremely rare here on Hawaii. So, next time you try such a joke, perhaps use an animal that really exists."

"I don't care if they are rare or not, you schmuck," Williams retorted, throwing Steve an angry look out of narrowed eyes. "It's enough that one of those monsters is in here. I'm telling you, it already attacked me once and I'm certainly…"

Suddenly he interrupted himself, his head jerked to the left as he held his breath. "Sssh," he hissed once more, hesitantly raising his left hand. "You hear that?"

Steve was just about to open his mouth when a deep buzzing reached his ears, fading in and out almost rhythmically only interrupted by some dull knocks now and then as if something small but heavy repeatedly smashed into a window.

"You hear that?" Danny repeated, his voice half smug and half panicked. He craned his neck and turned in his seat as far as the seatbelt allowed, trying to get a glimpse of the source of the sound.

"Yes Danny, I hear that," Steve said, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement as he watched his partner's agitated behavior. "But that sound only confirms that we have some kind of insect in the car. I'm pretty sure it's not a hornet." Shaking his head slightly when he noticed that Danny still searched the back of the car for the object of dispute, he suggested good-humoredly, "Maybe a simple honeybee?"

"I know what I've seen, Steven," Danny replied exasperated, turning his head to glare at his partner. "And you won't believe it but I actually know the difference between a bee and a hornet. And this thing inside the car is definitely much bigger than a simple honeybee."

"Then maybe a carpenter bee?" Steve softened his tone a little bit when he felt the amount of stress that radiated from the other man. "They can get pretty big and you find them all over the island. They are usually not very aggressive and they won't sting unless you're making them really angry." Throwing Danny a brief look, McGarrett couldn't resist adding with a small chuckle, "Which in your case is a possibility, because with all that screaming and hand-waving, you definitely manage to make everything and everyone angry."

"You know what, you jerk?" Williams asked after a short moment of contemplation where only the deep buzzing filled the silence in the car. He turned around into a normal position and once more placed his right hand on the door handle. "I don't give a damn about what you're thinking; if you want to stay inside this insect-infested vehicle, alright. But I have absolutely no intention of getting stung by a giant hornet." He waved his left hand with four outstretched fingers right in front of Steve's face as he continued angrily, "Don't you know that only four stings can kill a horse?"

"Oh, come on Danny, that's just an old wives' tale," Steve snorted with amusement, reducing the speed of the Camaro when the traffic on Pali Highway got heavier the nearer they came to the outskirts of Honolulu. Impatiently drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel, a mischievous grin played around Steve lips when he said matter-of-factly, "And besides, we have no horse in the car, so I think we might be safe."

"Very funny, Steven," Danny replied, rolling his eyes while his partner almost doubled over with laughter. "Really, very funny."

The deep buzzing inside the car increased in volume before it suddenly completely stopped, causing Danny to almost jump from his seat.

"Okay, that's it," he exclaimed, nervously turning his head to the left and the right. "Stop the car before that furry monster decides to light somewhere on this impeccable Jersey body." Throwing Steve a grim look, Danny's voice had lost all its usual playfulness when he said, "I'm dead serious about this, Steve. Stop the car and drop me off. I'd rather walk all the way back to the office than spending one more minute inside the car, trapped with a potentially life-threatening insect."

Noticing the changed tone in his partner's voice, Steve swallowed down the laughter that still prickled at the back of his throat. "You're really serious about that?" he frowned, shaking his head in disbelief when he turned his head to the right and took in Danny's determined expression and his rigid posture. "Okay, fine," he finally huffed out, pointing his right index finger at a road sign they just passed. "There's an exit half a mile from here. I'll leave the Highway and find a place to stop, okay?"

"Thank you very much, Steven," Williams replied annoyed. "How very generous of you."

The next few minutes were actually one of the longest and most unnerving moments in Danny's whole life, he startled nervously every time the buzzing stopped and restarted, all the time trying to ignore the goofy grin on his partner's face. As soon as Steve finally stopped the Camaro on a small grass verge off the heavy traffic on the Highway, Danny jumped out of the car in one swift move. Angrily slamming the door shut behind him, he stomped away a few steps before he came to a halt.

His hands still lazily resting on the top of the steering wheel, Steve leaned to the right to have a better view of his friend. Chuckling silently, the Ex-SEAL watched in amusement how Danny once more ran his hands through his hair and over his clothes before he took a deep breath and relaxed visibly.

Never taking his eyes from his partner, Steve wondered if Danny would really walk all the way back to the office. Wincing slightly when the deep buzzing of the mysterious insect suddenly reappeared near his left ear, Steve narrowed his eyes when the sound unexpectedly stopped and he felt something heavy landing on the back of his left hand.

A cold tingling slowly crept up his spine all the way to the back of his neck and very slowly McGarrett averted his eyes from his partner. Without moving his body, he looked down at his hands and his heart almost stopped when he noticed the giant insect that was comfortably sitting on the knuckles of his left hand, lazily cleaning one of its huge wings.

Instinctively flinging his hand through the air in an attempt to get rid of the black and yellow colored insect, Steve barely managed to suppress a frightened cry. He unbuckled the seatbelt and was out of the car in the blink of an eye, automatically shutting the door behind him with a loud bang. With large strides Steve approached his partner, unconsciously copying Danny's earlier behavior when his hands also repeatedly wiped over his clothes and his hair.

"Is everything alright, Steven?" Danny asked quietly, his voice sweet as honey as he smirked smugly at the taller man. "Certainly you're not afraid of a simple honeybee, are you?"

"That's not a honeybee, Danny," Steve growled, dangerously narrowing his eyes as he fixed his gaze at the car as if a hand grenade would go off there at any moment. "That's a full grown hornet."

"Do tell," Williams replied sarcastically, shaking his head as he stared at his partner. "If I remember correctly, I was trying to drill that little detail into your thick skull for the last half hour."

"You never said you were talking about an Asian giant hornet," Steve said accusingly, finally shifting his attention from the car to his friend.

"I never said… what?" Danny huffed out in annoyance, returning Steve's gaze without blinking. "Who died and made you Charles Darwin?" he asked, angrily waving his hands through the air before he pulled himself together and made a small bow. "But I'm deeply sorry that I forgot to tell you about my degree in entomology."

"Ento… what?" McGarrett asked with an almost perfect aneurysm face that immediately raised Danny's spirits by at least a hundred per cent.

"Entomology is the study of insects, Steven," Danny explained impatiently. He chuckled under his breath, for the first time in his life glad about the fact that one of his little sisters used to have an unhealthy interest in bugs and flies and everything else that crawled and flew.

"I knew that," Steve mumbled grumpily, unconsciously rubbing the spot on his left hand where the hornet had landed earlier.

"Sure you did," Danny nodded, rolling his eyes as he gleefully slapped Steve on the shoulder. "So… what is so special about Asian giant hornets, except the fact that they are giant and probably originally from Asia?"

"Asian giant hornets are also known as yak-killer hornets," Steve explained hoarsely while he slowly walked back toward the deserted Camaro, causing Danny to follow him to hear what he was saying. "Their venom can cause an allergic reaction but it also contains a neurotoxin which actually can be lethal even to people who are not allergic."

"Lethal?" Danny gasped audibly, staring wide-eyed at his partner's back. "You are kidding, right?"

Stopping dead in his tracks, Steve heaved a deep sigh before he hesitantly turned around and locked eyes with Danny. "No, I'm not kidding," he admitted quietly, shaking his head once. "And I'm sorry that I didn't believe you."

Rubbing his hands over his face, Danny drew a shaky breath; a cold shiver ran down his spine when he remembered the moment in the car when that furry monster literally bumped against his cheek. "Forget it," he said with a small wave of his hands, taking another deep breath to calm his frayed nerves. "How do you know all that stuff about yak killing insects?"

"Personal experience," McGarrett said tautly, bending down to press his nose against the passenger's window.

"You got stung?" Danny asked curiously, also taking a peek inside the car.

"No, but a friend of mine." Steve explained, narrowing his eyes as he looked around for the subject of their discussion. "He survived, but he described the pain as something of the worst he'd ever experienced. He said the sting felt like a hot nail had been driven in his hand, closely followed by a myriad of symptoms like shortness of breath, nausea, paralysis and of course pronounced swelling of the affected area. In fact his fingers looked like…"

"Okay, I think that's enough," Danny interrupted him, his face contorted with disgust. "I've got it. Thank you very much for that detailed description."

Resting his left elbow on the roof of the Camaro, he looked at his partner who now had placed his hands left and right of his face, blocking out the light to have a better view inside the car. "What do we do now? How do we get that thing out of the car?"

"First we need to find out where it hides," Steve answered, the window fogged a little bit when he breathed against it. "And then… WHOA!"

Jumping back at least five feet, Steve cried out when the hornet suddenly appeared out of nowhere and flew an angry attack against the inner surface of the window, directly at eye level with the Ex-SEAL.

Despite the situation, Danny couldn't prevent the chuckle that bubbled up in him when he watched Steve's frightened expression. Nonchalantly pressing his index finger against the passenger's window, he began to draw small circles on the pane, not caring that his actions seemed to make the hornet angrier and more aggressive with every passing second. "And then what, Steven?"

Standing completely still for a long moment, his gaze darting between his partner and the hornet, Steve finally narrowed his eyes before he leaped into action. "And then we open the door and let it out," he replied angrily as he shoved Williams away and tore open the door in one swift move.

"Are you totally out of your mind?" Danny yelled, raising his hands to cover his head when the enraged insect immediately noticed the newly created escape route and stopped its angry attacks against the window.

Both, Steve and Danny, ducked away when the hornet circled their heads a few times before the deep buzzing finally died away and they watched relieved how the insect disappeared into the bright blue Hawaiian sky.

"Why did you do that, you lunatic?" Danny asked breathlessly, throwing an angry look at his partner who just rubbed his hands, a smug smile playing around his lips.

"It's gone, isn't that what you wanted?" Steve said good-humoredly, giving Danny a brotherly slap on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get back to the Palace," he added, already having walked around the car and started the engine before Danny was even able to reply.

"You can just count yourself lucky I didn't get stung, Steven," Danny ranted at his partner as soon as he got in the car and they were back on the crowded Pali Highway. "I don't know how that giant thing even got into the car, but I'm sure it's somehow your fault."

"Oh, it's my fault?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow as he threw a brief glance at his partner. "And why on earth would that be my fault?"

"I don't know," Danny admitted, erratically waving his hands through the air. "Maybe you picked it up when you roamed around in Dr. Nakamura's greenhouses while I had been sitting down with the old nerd and had to listen to his endless discourses about Japanese flora. I'm pretty sure that our black and yellow striped friend had been hiding somewhere in the countless pockets of your ever-present cargo pants and…"

He interrupted himself suddenly and jerked his head to the back of the car. Raising his left hand Danny vigorously shook his head when he noticed that Steve started to ask a question.

"Sssh," Williams hissed firmly as he let his gaze travel across the car. "Did you hear that?"

"Oh, come on Danny, not again," McGarrett burst out laughing. "I admit that it was a bit funny the first time but now you really should think about something new."

But Steve's laughter abruptly died down when a familiar deep buzzing filled the air. Simultaneously turning their heads, Steve and Danny locked eyes and exchanged a horrified glance before Steve switched on the Camaro's emergency lights and jammed on the brakes.

Not caring about the heavy traffic and the cars behind them he brought the car to a dead stop on the small road shoulder and ripped the door open, throwing one last panicked look at his partner.

"Get out of here!"


	4. Never assume the obvious is true

**Notes:  
**This one is a little bit longer than the previous chapters – I hope you don't mind!

**Thanks:  
JazzieG**, thank you so much for the fast betaing – you're the best! :-)

* * *

"_Never assume the obvious is true."  
(William Safire)_

* * *

"So, when are you gonna tell me?"

Steve asked, turning his head to the right to throw a look at his partner.

"When am I gonna tell you what, Steven?" Danny replied, lazily stretching in the passenger's seat of his silver Camaro. Licking his lips he briefly returned Steve's gaze before he leaned his head against the head rest and stared out the window, a smug little smile playing around his lips and a content glint in his bright blue eyes.

"When are you gonna tell me about your date with Gabby the other night," McGarrett clarified his question, hitting the brakes to bring the car to a halt at a red traffic light.

It was late afternoon and the heavy rush hour traffic only allowed a slow progress. Impatiently eyeing the long row of cars in front of them, Steve heaved a little sigh before he looked again at his friend.

"Come on, Danno," he said gleefully, narrowing his eyes when he noticed the content expression on the other man's face. He started to chuckle good-humoredly, slapping his hand against Danny's arm. "You did it, right? I mean, you had… uhm, well, you did it, right?"

Throwing a brief glance at his partner, Danny raised his eyebrows and shook his head ever so slightly, before he returned his attention to the waiting cars in front of them.

"Jeez, McGarrett," he finally puffed out, furrowing his brow when he looked out the windscreen. "You really want to know if we had sex? How old are you? Twelve?"

Cocking his head a little bit to the right, the frown on Danny's forehead deepened when he stared at a huge camper van two cars ahead. The traffic lights switched to green and the motorcade moved sluggishly forward, only to come to another stop barely thirty feet later.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Steve asked, smirking at his friend. The traffic jam made him slightly aggressive but teasing Danny about his latest date helped a lot to lighten his mood.

"A gentleman never tells," Williams replied distractedly, narrowing his eyes and leaning forward in his seat. "Did you see this?" he asked tentatively, pointing at the camper in front of them. "I think someone is sending Morse signals."

"Nice try, D," Steve chuckled as he slowly moved the Camaro another few feet before the traffic lights switched back to red. "But sooner or later you will tell me about your date. And anyway, what do you – a die-hard Jersey guy – know about Morse signals?"

"You can wipe that smirk off your face, Steven," Danny replied, throwing his partner an annoyed look. "I might have been kicked out of boy scouts and I'm definitely not a snobbish, big-headed Navy SEAL but I do recognize an SOS signal when I see one." Nodding toward the camper he added matter-of-factly," Look at the brake lights."

Hearing the seriousness in Danny's voice, Steve slowly turned his head to look at the camper, but he wasn't able to completely ban the smirk from his face. Sooner or later Danny would tell him about his date.

The brake lights flashed a few times, hardly visible in the bright Hawaiian sunshine, but then they went out when the traffic lights once more switched to green and the cars moved forward another few feet. The camper van was now the first vehicle at the traffic lights and as soon as it came to a halt the brake lights began to flash rhythmically.

Staring in deep concentration at the red lights, Steve watched the rhythm for a few seconds before a confused frown appeared on his forehead and he turned his head to look at his partner. "I think you're right, Danny," Steve said perplexed. "That's definitely an SOS signal."

Grabbing the door handle, McGarrett was just about to exit the car when Danny's hand closed around his right wrist, abruptly stopping his movement.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing, Steven?" Danny exclaimed, shaking his head in astonishment. "Stand down, sailor," he added while he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit a few buttons. "Wait," Williams ordered quietly, hesitantly removing his grip around Steve's wrist while he pressed the cell phone against his ear.

"Hey Chin, it's Danny," he said only a second later, throwing McGarrett a meaningful glance. "I need you to check a number plate for me… AHF 573… it's a white camper van. Find out everything you can about the owner, okay?" Danny nodded sharply, obviously listening to Chin's answer before he ended the call with a short, "Great, thanks."

Keeping the cell phone in his hands he turned toward his partner. "He'll call back as soon as he knows anything," Danny explained briefly, pointing at the camper that started to move at the exact same moment. "I suggest we follow without drawing too much attention to us until we know more about the owner of the van."

Grinning brightly he slapped Steve on the shoulder, "Go on, Super SEAL, show me your infamous pursuit talents."

"Where's the fun in pursuing another car in a traffic jam?" Steve grumbled under his breath, but nevertheless turned right at the crossroads to follow the camper.

The traffic was still heavy but at least they were constantly moving forward instead of the unnerving stop-and-go at the traffic lights. But the movement was still incredibly slow and they had barely reached the next corner when the cell phone in Danny's hands began to chirp.

"Chin, you're on speaker," Danny said, slightly raising his left hand that held the phone. "What do you have?"

"Not much," Chin admitted apologetically.

There was a brief pause where Steve and Danny could hear the familiar beeps of the smart table in the background before Chin asked curiously, "Do you want to tell me what this is about?"

"Sure," Williams answered, quickly elaborating the suspicious flashing of the van's brake lights

"Well, that's definitely something new," Kono's voice sounded from the background. "SOS signals via the brake lights? What on earth is happening inside the camper?" the youngest Five-0 member wanted to know.

"That's what I was trying to find out," Steve threw in impatiently. "But Danny wouldn't let me get out of the car."

"And what would you have done?" Danny retorted in annoyance, waving his right hand through the air. "Wielding your weapon and starting a gun fight in the midst of a crowded street?"

"Anything would have been better than just following the vehicle and doing nothing," Steve replied, raising his eyebrows as he looked at his partner.

"Guys," Chin interrupted quietly, but slightly amused. "Do you want to hear what I found out or not?"

"Go on," Danny said, holding Steve's gaze until McGarrett was forced to avert his eyes and return his concentration to the street.

"Okay, listen," Chin started to explain. "The camper is a rental and it was due for return yesterday afternoon but the renters never showed up. Kono spoke to the owner of the rental company while I tried to get more information on the renters."

"Who are they?" Steve asked, leaning forward in his seat to have a better view on the subject of discussion.

As soon as the camper stopped, the brake lights began to flash, three times short, three times long, three times short, constantly the same rhythm until the van was forced to move along with the other cars. But the more they moved away from the busy airport area the less crowded the streets became and soon Steve and Danny found themselves heading westwards out of town.

"The camper was rented 14 days ago by two women from Burlington/Vermont, Caroline Myers and Yoko Watanabe, and their 2-year old daughter Asuka Watanabe," Chin listed the meager facts.

"_Their_ daughter?" Steve asked, sharing a surprised look with Danny who just shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows.

"Yes," Chin confirmed patiently. "Caroline and Yoko got married in 2009; their daughter was born in 2010. Caroline works as a bank teller, Yoko is a kindergarten teacher, they have no criminal records. They came to Hawaii three weeks ago, spent one week in a small hotel on Maui before they came to Oahu, where they rented that camper two weeks ago. Their return flight to the mainland is scheduled for tomorrow morning." There was some more typing and beeping in the background before Chin added with a little sigh, "That's all I have."

"Okay, thanks Chin," Danny replied, running his right hand over his hair as he thought about the facts Chin had just listed. "Anything from the people at the rental company?"

"Not really," Kono stepped in, taking over from her cousin. "The owner is a guy named Rick Monroe. He seemed to be rather homophobic, ranting the whole time that he knew it from the beginning and never should have given one his vehicles to _those people_." Kono's voice was half amused and half angry when she continued, "He seemed to be more interested in his camper than in the fact that anything might have happened to the two women and their child. To put it in a nutshell, he knew nothing about the women's plans and despite his obvious aversion against 'those kind of people', how he called them, I believe that he has nothing to do with what is going on inside the camper."

"Okay," Danny said as he dropped the cell phone in his lap, running both hands over his face in frustration. "So we still have no idea what's going on?"

Steve just raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth, but Danny beat him to it and growled exasperated, "Yeah, I know, big guy, if you had been allowed to go in with flying colors everything would have been solved by now, right?"

"Well, at least we would have known why someone is constantly sending an SOS signal," McGarrett answered impatiently.

"Guys, that's not getting us anywhere," Chin calmly interrupted their little nagging once more. "Where are you now?"

"We've passed Honolulu International about fifteen minutes ago, driving westwards on Highway 1," Steve explained curtly. "We're now going north, have left the Highway shortly after the H2 junction."

"Hey," Williams suddenly interrupted, nervously grabbing Steve's right arm as he pointed at the camper that just turned left into a small farm track that was flanked by large trees. "Maybe you get your chance earlier than expected."

"What's happening?" Kono asked over the speaker when she heard Danny's comment, excitement evident in her voice.

"They've just left the road," Danny briefly explained the recent events before he said to his partner. "Slow down, so they don't see us following them."

"I know this place here and if I remember correctly the path just ends about half a mile from here on a small overlook," Steve replied pensively while he brought the Camaro to a stop and turned off the engine. "Let's just follow them by foot."

"Do you need backup?" Chin asked quietly over the phone.

"No," Steve replied immediately, at the same time that Danny exclaimed, "Yes."

The two partners turned their heads and looked at each other for a second before they said with one voice, "Maybe."

"Yeah, maybe," Steve repeated reluctantly, raising his eyebrows when he saw Danny's self-contented smile.

"Okay, we'll send a black-and-white but tell them to stay out of sight until I hear from you?" Chin suggested, while they already could hear Kono talk in the background. "And I think I can't keep my little cousin in the office any longer, she's practically bursting with anticipation, so I guess we'll be on our way to join you soon."

"Good idea, Chin. That gives us the time to find out what's going on," Steve nodded, his left hand closing around the door handle, ready to get out of the car. "You okay with that, Danny?"

"I guess I have no other choice, have I," Danny sighed dramatically, but he also was more than ready to solve the mystery of the unusual SOS signal.

"Police are on the way," Kono threw in cheerfully. "Be careful, you two. Don't do anything stupid until we're there."

"Never," McGarrett answered, grinning brightly as he slapped Danny on the shoulder. "Come on partner, let's go."

"If you see a big explosion on your way here, then don't worry," Williams said only half-jokingly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at his friend. "That's just Super SEAL, blowing up the whole place in his usual manner." With that he ended the call and heaved another little sigh before he swiftly exited the car.

"Very funny, Danno," Steve mumbled under his breath, still grinning when he opened the driver's door to follow his partner.

"How do we want to do this?" Danny asked, chewing on his lower lip as he stared in the direction the camper has vanished. "I'd prefer to wear a vest, but if you want to pretend we're harmless hikers who accidentally stumbled over this place…" His voice trailed off and he shrugged his shoulder as he locked eyes with Steve.

Before Steve was able to answer Danny's question they could hear muffled voices and yelling from behind a row of trees.

"I think vests might be a good idea," McGarrett nodded determinedly, quickly rounding the car and opening the trunk. Tossing Danny his Kevlar vest he put on his own in one swift move and then both men walked along the dirt track toward the screaming.

Only a few minutes later the path ended in a small parking area where the white camper was parked and two women and one man were standing in front of the vehicle. The yelling that had stopped a moment ago started anew and now that Steve and Danny were near enough they could see that the man – a bald-headed, beefy looking Latino – wielded a weapon, obviously forcing the taller of the women to tie up and gag the smaller one. Tears were streaming down the petite Asian's face and she shook her head over and over again, mumbling and screaming against the gag.

Steve and Danny shared a quick determined look and producing their own weapons they emerged from behind a group of large trees.

"Seems like the ladies don't appreciate the way you're treating them," McGarrett nonchalantly announced their appearance while he quickly let his gaze travel around, checking the environment for anything suspicious.

"This is Commander McGarrett, I'm Detective Williams, we're with Five-0," Danny added with a little nod of his head. "I suggest you drop the weapon and let the women go."

The bald-headed man acted faster than any of them had expected. Instead of dropping the weapon he pushed the small Asian woman to the ground and in one swift move grabbed the other woman from behind, putting his left arm around her throat and pressing the weapon against her temple so that she shrieked in surprise.

"Well, that was to be expected," Danny mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes when he shared a short glance with his partner. "Now what?"

Completely ignoring the bald-headed man and his weapon Steve looked from the crying Asian woman on the ground to the standing brunette woman, who stared back at him, her face showing a mixture of fear and utter surprise.

"Yoko, Caroline, are you alright?" Steve asked calmly, almost chuckling about the expressions on the faces of the three people in front of him when he called the women by their names.

"It happened that we stumbled across your SOS signal and then we made some inquiries," Danny explained with a little smile, raising his weapon a little bit more. His statement caused the Latino and the woman at his mercy to turn their heads and stare down at Yoko who choked back a sob of relief.

But before any of the people at the scene could say or do anything else, the pitiful crying of a child filled the air. Yoko immediately tried to get to her feet while Caroline dug her fingers into the man's arm around her throat, both women obviously determined to get to their daughter in the camper van.

"Stop it!" the bald-headed man growled hoarsely, kicking Yoko's legs away so that the small woman once more crashed down onto the ground, groaning in pain and sorrow.

"That's our daughter… Asuka…" Caroline sobbed, struggling forcefully against her captor. "She's only two. He… he hit her… Please…"

Hearing those words, Yoko shook her head feverishly, her eyes darting between her wife, the camper and Steve and Danny. She desperately tried to say something but the gag in her mouth prevented any coherent utterance.

"Shut the hell up!" the bald-headed man yelled, tightening his grip around Caroline's throat until she finally stopped her struggle and lowered her arms in desperation.

The cries of the little girl went directly to Danny's heart and with a look filled with hatred and disgust he stared at the sturdy man. Only with great difficulty he managed to avert his eyes, sharing another short glance with his partner. "You have everything under control here?" he asked hoarsely, barely waiting for Steve's affirmative nod as he already moved slowly toward the entrance of the camper. "I'm going in to look after the girl."

"Please, take care of her," Caroline sobbed again, looking at Danny out of big blue eyes, tears running down her face. "She's our baby…"

Still shaking her head, Yoko tried once more to say something, the choked sounds that left her throat mixed with the child's crying. She was also weeping bitterly, her dark eyes full of fear and desperation when she watched Danny opening the door of the camper.

"I'll get her, don't worry," Danny said with a small reassuring smile before he vanished into the vehicle.

Keeping his eyes fixed onto the Latino, Steve raised his own weapon a little higher and made a small step to the left to have a better line of fire. He was ready to make his move as soon as the bald-headed man showed the slightest sign of weakness but at the moment there was no way to interfere without putting the lives of the two women in danger.

The crying that came out of the trailer stopped for a moment and then there was suddenly a rattling noise, followed by a loud thud.

Furrowing his brow Steve briefly turned his head toward the camper, but quickly brought his concentration back to the people in front of him.

"Danny?" he shouted loudly, hoping that his partner was able to hear him. "Everything alright in there?"

But instead of an answer the only sound that came out of the camper was the desperate crying of a lonely little girl that once more filled the air.

* * *

Danny threw one last look at the distressed mothers before he opened the door and cautiously stepped into the camper. Blinking a few times to adjust his eyes to the dim light he quickly checked the room before he moved toward the crying child, passing a small kitchen unit and a few closets.

The little Asian girl was sitting in a corner on the floor next to a small double bed, sucking her left thumb while she desperately hugged and squeezed a worn out looking stuffed elephant. Her face was flushed and wet from tears, her tiny body shaking piteously when she cried for her parents.

Stowing away his weapon, Danny slowly approached the little girl, trying not to scare her any more. "Asuka?" he asked gently, giving her a warm smile when she finally stopped crying and stared at him out of big dark eyes. "Hey, little one, it's okay," he said softly while he crouched down in front of her, slowly reaching out his hand toward her. "Come on, sweety, I'll bring you to your mommy, okay?"

A faint creak from somewhere behind him sent a cold shiver down his spine but before Danny was able to turn around his head exploded in excruciating pain and the last thing he heard before everything around him grew dark was Asuka's terrified crying.

He didn't completely black out – or at least not for very long – because the next thing Danny knew he was rudely yanked to his feet, the little girl's cries sending spikes of pain through his head. Squeezing his eyes shut to get rid of the bout of dizziness and nausea that flooded his mind, Williams groaned in agony when he raised his right hand to his head. Tentatively opening his eyes he blinked feverishly against the veil that darkened his vision, staring at his blood-covered, trembling hand in numb surprise.

"Move!" a harsh voice sounded in his ears and he was brutally shoved forward, sluggishly crashing down onto the floor when the sudden movement proved to be too much for his frail condition.

It would have been too easy to give in to the call of unconsciousness that heavily pulled on his mind but Asuka's frightened sobs struck a chord deep inside his heart and Danny gathered all his strength to raise his throbbing head.

"Get up!" the same angry voice from before growled before Danny was even able to struggle to his feet and at the same time a forceful kick was delivered to his ribs, immediately followed by a second and third kick. The added pain was almost too much, causing Danny to draw in the air in ragged breaths but nevertheless he slowly rolled around onto his back, for the first time able to throw a look at his attacker.

Trying to blink away the pain in his head, Danny stared open-mouthed at the bald-headed man who towered over him, a man that looked almost exactly as the man outside. They were probably brothers if not twins and if it hadn't been for their different-colored shirts, Danny would have had trouble telling them apart, even if his head didn't scream in agony at him.

For the second time in the last few moments, Danny was yanked to his feet, but this time the grip on the back of his shirt remained when he was forced forward, half pushed and half dragged like a kitten by its mother. Asuka's sobs increased in intensity when the bald-headed man – Danny almost had to chuckle when his probably concussed brain immediately came up with the names Humpty and Dumpty for the two brothers – closed his other hand around her tiny arm and hauled the girl with him.

"Leave her alone, she's only a little child," he slurred hoarsely, trying to free himself out of the man's grip. His left arm pressed against his aching ribs, Danny's right hand reflexively went to his belt holster but all he found was empty air.

"Searching for this?" Humpty – or Dumpty – asked mockingly as he removed his grip from Danny's collar and shoved something hard between Danny's shoulder blades. Only a heartbeat later Danny heard the tell-tale sound of cocking a weapon and he reluctantly moved toward the door when the barrel of his own gun was pressed painfully against his spine.

Stumbling out of the camper, Williams blinked feverishly against the new wave of pain in his head, caused not only by the bright Hawaiian sunlight but also by Steve's angry outcry. Baldy number two still pushed him forward toward his partner, but the double and triple version of everything around him combined with his wobbly legs didn't make it easy to stay upright. Danny's knees gave way every few steps and if it hadn't been for Dumpty's meaty arm that suddenly shot forward and tightened around his throat, he surely would have dropped to the ground.

"We already called for back-up," Steve growled menacingly, slowly moving back a few steps so that he had a better look at the two brothers and their hostages. "There's no chance you'll get away. Just put down your weapons before anyone else gets hurt," he tried to reason, his voice barely audible over Asuka's loud crying. The little girl was lying on the ground next to Danny's feet where 'Dumpty' had carelessly tossed her a moment ago. "Put down your weapons," Steve repeated once more, looking angrily from one man to the other.

"No," 'Humpty' and 'Dumpty' replied with one voice, briefly grinning at each other over the heads of their respective captive before they returned their attention back to Steve.

"You put down your weapon or you'll be responsible not only for the death of your partner but also for the deaths of two women and an innocent little girl," the man behind Danny said, slightly nudging the sobbing girl with his booted foot. The movement caused both women to break out into tears once more, and Danny's rattled mind realized belatedly that Yoko was still kneeling on the ground next to her wife and baldy number one.

"Steve, do what he says," Danny forced out hoarsely, the dizziness and nausea getting worse with every passing moment. He was barely able to keep his eyes open, but he gathered his last strength and despite the agonizing pain in his head and chest he managed to lock eyes with his partner. "She's only a baby, don't let anything happen to her," Danny whispered, his legs trembling violently from the effort to hold himself upright. He knew that right now he was serving as a human shield for his captor and that Steve had not the slightest chance to turn the current situation to their advantage. All they could do right now was stall for time and hope that the back-up that Chin and Kono had sent would intervene in good time.

* * *

The anger that had been burning inside Steve since he and Danny had entered the scene a few minutes ago, since he had watched the rough way the bald-headed man treated the two women was definitely reaching a new level when he saw his partner being shoved out of the camper bloodied and beaten.

Danny was deathly pale; blood from a nasty gash on his right temple was streaming down his face and on the collar of his blue-striped dress shirt. Pressing his left arm against his chest, he seemed to be barely conscious and had trouble staying on his feet, he blinked sluggishly and his dull eyes were unsteadily searching the environment, unable to fix on anything around him. Another bald-headed man, obviously the other man's brother or twin, pressed a weapon against Danny's back, with his other hand rudely dragging a little sobbing girl along.

Telling the two men to back down didn't have the desired effect; instead of putting down their weapons they got even more aggressive, nudging the little girl and manhandling not only the women but also his partner. Steve's mind was racing to find a solution, but he was alone against two gunmen, who had four hostages at their mercy and as much as his body screamed to get into action, he knew deep inside that he wouldn't have the slightest chance.

Danny's whispered plea to put down his weapon and protect the child finally tipped the scales and after holding his partner's gaze for a long moment, Steve hesitantly lowered his gun, hoping that he did the right thing and that the promised back-up was already nearby.

"Put your weapon on the ground and kick it over to my brother," the man behind Danny said with a malicious smile, tightening his grip around Danny's throat for good measure. Danny's breathing got even more labored than it already had been and with clenched jaws Steve finally crouched down and slowly did what he had been ordered, his burning eyes never leaving the other man's face.

Yoko, who still knelt on the ground with her hands bound behind her back started once more to scream into her gag, feverishly shaking her head. Her gaze briefly found Steve's and he frowned when he noticed the absolute terror in Yoko's dark eyes, but then she quickly looked back at her little daughter in utter desperation.

Asuka's crying finally had stopped; the little girl was probably much too exhausted to weep anymore. She was sitting on the ground next to Danny's feet, limply hugging her pink stuffed elephant while she numbly stared into nothing. Only once in a while a tired sob wracked her tiny body.

"Pick it up," baldy number one said as he released Caroline from his grip and gave her a little push toward Steve's weapon. Stumbling forward the brunette woman rubbed her hands over her throat and swallowed a few times before she took a deep breath and wiped away the tears from her face. A ferocious smile crept across her lips when she bent down and took the weapon in her right hand. "I'd be glad to," she said quietly, briefly locking eyes with McGarrett.

Then she suddenly whirled around and laughed out loud when she wrapped her arms around the neck of her former captor. "Emilio, that was fantastic," she exclaimed, beaming with joy. "That went even better than expected." She planted a deep kiss on the man's lips before she reluctantly backed off and turned around to face the two members of Five-0 who stared at her in utter surprise, totally dumbfounded by the recent events.

"What the hell is going on here?" Steve asked in confusion, his voice almost trembling with barely hidden anger.

"Oh, nothing of your concern, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Caroline answered disdainfully, carelessly waving around Steve's weapon. "Let's just say that in the near future my beloved little Asuka will no longer have two mommies."

Hearing those words and seeing Caroline's slightly lunatic expression, Yoko struggled to her feet, desperately screaming into her gag but before she managed to get up, Caroline turned around in one swift move and shoved the weapon against the smaller woman's cheek. Yoko crashed back down on the ground with a muffled cry, landing ungracefully on her right side. She was breathing heavily, staring at Caroline in disgust and fear.

"Darling, please behave," the brunette woman spoke down to her. "You surely don't want that my daughter remembers you shouting and raving."

"She will never be your daughter," Yoko sobbed agitatedly, the gag coming undone by the hit to her face. "You're not even blood-related to her…"

"Oh, but I will be the only mother she'll have," Caroline interrupted her with a sharp hiss. Making a small step forward she cocked her weapon and pointed it directly at Yoko's head. "Because you will be dead," she spat furiously.

"Caroline, stop it!" Steve and Danny yelled with one voice and to their immense relief the woman actually turned around and lowered her weapon a little bit. Her blue eyes glistened with cold hatred when she looked at the two men, trying to decide what to do with the additional burden. One brief glance at Danny told her that the blond detective wasn't a threat to anyone around; he was swaying slightly in his captor's grip and seemed barely able to keep upright or to keep his eyes open. Caroline's gaze traveled over to the taller man and she noticed with rising malice the worried looks that the Commander shot his injured partner.

"Caroline," Williams forced out hoarsely, blinking sluggishly when he tried to lock eyes with the young woman. "Think about Asuka," he slurred, faintly gesturing toward the little girl on the ground. "Do you really want her to witness how you shoot someone?" Danny's breath was coming in chopped pants, his little speech had almost drained the last of his reserves and his knees began to buckle under his weight.

Staring at the Jersey cop for a long moment, Caroline finally narrowed her eyes and gave baldy number two a bored nod. "Enrique," she said quietly, an evil grin playing around her lips. "Would you please make him shut up? I don't want to hear all this nonsense."

"With pleasure, my love," the Latino answered politely and Steve could only watch in horror how he released the grip around Danny' throat, raised his weapon in one swift move and brutally struck a blow to Danny's neck.

"No!" Steve yelled angrily, darting forward to catch his partner but even if he would have been fast enough, the gun in his face surely stopped his every movement.

"Danny," he cried out despite the weapon, watching helplessly how his friend limply crashed down to the ground with a dull groan of pain.

Steve took a deep shuddering breath and his expression grew deadly cold when he slowly looked up to meet the gaze of Danny's attacker.

"You will pay for that," he said grimly but Enrique just grinned at him with open scorn. Clenching his fists, Steve tensed his muscles but whatever action he had planned was interrupted by Caroline's soft voice.

"Do anything stupid and your partner will be the first one to die," she said in an almost friendly tone. "Closely followed by yourself and my dear wife here," she added with a brief side glance at Yoko.

Taking another few breaths that were meant to calm his agitated mind but that didn't really help much, Steve stared at the young woman in disgust. He finally averted his eyes and looked down at his friend, furrowing his brow in worry when he noticed Danny's condition. If possible, Danny was even paler than before, the wound on his right temple still bleeding sluggishly. He was lying half on his stomach, half on his left side, his breathing fast and shallow, his eyes closed but the deep lines of pain and discomfort on his forehead told Steve that he probably was still conscious.

McGarrett threw one last hateful glance at Caroline before he bent down to care for his fallen partner but his movement was once more stopped by a weapon in his face.

"Don't move," Enrique said with an expression that totally gave away his lust for violence. He obviously hoped for Steve to do something that justified his intervention.

"I just want to look after my partner," Steve slowly forced out through gritted teeth, trying to swallow down his rising anger. "Believe me; it will be better for all of you if he's alright."

"Oh, I think very soon you don't have to worry over anyone's well-being anymore," Caroline said giggling while she strolled back to Emilio's side, carelessly pointing her gun once more at Yoko's head. "And besides, he already looks half-dead, why waste any more energy on him?" she asked with a dismissive gesture in Danny's direction.

"He's not…" Steve started furiously but he was interrupted when he felt a weak touch on his right ankle that made him look down in surprise.

"Steve… it's… alright," Williams groaned hoarsely, desperately clinging to the last strings of consciousness. The words were barely audible, but Danny's grip around Steve's ankle was becoming a little bit stronger when he breathed out, "I'm… okay."

Shaking his head, Steve huffed out a doubtful breath when he took in Williams' posture. His whole body was trembling from exertion and pain, his breathing was much too laborious for Steve's liking and his gaze was dull when he locked eyes with his partner.

"Well, you don't look so good, Danno," Steve replied with a sad little smile.

Enrique had been listening to their short conversation with growing mockery but his attention was distracted when Caroline once more threw her arms around his brother's neck and they shared a deep, longing kiss.

"Steve…" Danny croaked out while he tried to pick himself up a little bit. His right hand was still wrapped around Steve's ankle, only an inch away from the hidden gun in the ankle holster. Steve had been immensely glad that those people hadn't searched him for additional weapons but until now he hadn't seen a good chance to take advantage of that fact. Locking eyes with Steve, Danny briefly raised his eyebrows and slightly nodded toward his right leg, indicating that his own spare weapon had also stayed undetected.

"You sure?" McGarrett whispered, throwing a doubtful look at his partner. Danny seemed barely able to hold a gun not to mention fire one.

Nodding weakly, Danny tried to take a deep breath but the kicks to his ribs that he'd received earlier had obviously been stronger than he thought. Briefly squeezing his eyes shut he gasped for air when a sharp pain flashed through his chest.

A long moment later Danny had finally regained some of his composure and he opened his eyes to look up at Steve. He flashed his friend a weak smile before he rasped hoarsely, "Let's just end all this…" _as long as I'm able to help_. The last part of the sentence wasn't spoken aloud but Steve could hear it clearly in his mind and after a second of thinking he nodded reluctantly.

The two men knew each other long enough to communicate without spoken words and even without a decent plan they seemed to know exactly what their respective task was.

Without moving his head Steve let his gaze travel over their three captors and noticed with satisfaction that at the moment none of them seemed to take notice of what he or Danny were doing; Caroline and Emilio were still absorbed in their kiss while Enrique stared longingly at the couple.

Looking back down at Danny, McGarrett tensed his muscles and nodded ever so slightly. "Now," he mouthed silently, hoping with all his might that Danny was up to whatever would happen in the next few moments.

Holding his breath, Steve watched with growing concern how Danny clumsily pushed up his pant leg and fumbled the small weapon out of the ankle holster with trembling hands. He waited another short moment until he was sure that Danny was alright, and then he whirled around at the same time that his partner started to shoot.

* * *

To say that he hurt would be the understatement of the century – no, scratch that, it would be the understatement of the millennium.

Danny couldn't remember another time when he felt so damn tired and was in so much pain. His chest hurt like hell, and with every panted breath he drew in he was more and more sure that the kicks to his ribs had definitely cracked some of them. But the pain in his chest was nothing compared to the agony in his head. Every tiny movement sent almost unbearable spikes of pain through his skull and Danny wanted nothing more than to just close his eyes and forget about everything around him.

But he still remembered the desperate sobs of the little girl and the thought that she would lose her mother or witness any more violence than she already had seen helped him to gather the last of his strength.

Swallowing forcefully against the bile that burned in his throat, Danny blinked sluggishly as he looked up to meet Steve's eyes. He actually had trouble focusing his gaze on anything, his vision was not only hazy and blurred but he was pretty sure that there wasn't supposed to be two Steves who stared back at him.

Williams was barely able to make out Steve's start signal and it almost took his entire energy to release his grip around Steve's ankle and push up his pant leg. He didn't know how but he finally managed to pull Steve's spare gun out of his ankle holster and cock the weapon with trembling hands.

Laboriously rolling over, he aimed the gun high into the sky, not trusting his abilities to actually hit any target. He had no intention of accidentally shooting someone innocent, he just needed to distract Caroline and Humpty Dumpty long enough for Steve to gain the upper hand.

Even if it was only a small weapon, the recoil almost knocked the gun out of his weak grip and Danny gritted his teeth when every single shot felt like someone drilled a fiery nail right into his brain. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed his partner whirling around, eliminating Enrique with one well-placed kick against the head. Danny then felt more than saw Steve's dive to the ground, and only a heartbeat later Steve had yanked Danny's spare weapon out of his ankle holster.

The headache was slowly becoming too much to bear any longer and Danny squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to fight the pain, pulling the trigger over and over again until the ammo clip finally clicked empty.

Completely deprived of his energy he carelessly dropped the weapon and with his very last bit of strength Danny struggled into a half sitting position and crawled over toward Asuka. As to be expected the little girl had started to cry in fear and panic when the first loud shot had been ringing out in the air. Shielding the child with his own body Danny just sat there and tried to catch his breath but the agonizing pain that flared through his head made it almost impossible to stay upright. His heart ached when he took in the frightened sobs but he just couldn't muster the energy to find some comforting words.

He didn't know how long he sat there, his arms wrapped around the tiny body, concentrating on nothing else than the simple fact not to black out. Danny's dazed mind registered only belatedly that the shooting had stopped and that he could hear the wail of sirens in the distance.

Soon the sound became an all-consuming noise that reverberated back and forth in his head and Danny squeezed his eyes shut, panting heavily to block out the pain.

He sagged down in relief when the sirens finally stopped what seemed to be an eternity later, startling when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

Their plan had obviously worked because when he'd finally summoned enough energy to turn around and raise his head, he looked directly into his partner's worried face. Steve's mouth opened and closed a few times and the open concern on his face became more prominent but it took a while for Danny to understand what his friend was saying, the pain inside his head drowning out every outside sound.

"Danny," Steve's voice finally penetrated the fog in Danny's mind, the expression on his face clearly indicating that he had called the name quite a few times before. "Danny, are you okay?"

Slowly licking his dry lips Williams thought about an answer, staring tiredly back at his partner. He blinked sluggishly, wondering why his vision became more and more dimmed with every passing moment. A deep frown formed on Danny's forehead, the words were just swirling around in his head but it was suddenly much too difficult to get them into a correct order to form a proper sentence.

"Danny?" he heard Steve's worried voice ringing through his head. "Can you hear me? Danny?"

Everything was swirling around him and he still felt Steve's hand on his shoulder and then, just like that, like someone just switched off all his senses, there was only darkness around him and all the pain was gone.

* * *

"Danny?" Steve asked urgently, tightening his grip on his partner's shoulder. Danny blinked slowly a few times and furrowed his brow in confusion but he didn't seem to be able to answer Steve's question. "Can you hear me? Danny?" Steve tried once more, immediately jumping into action and closing both his hands around Danny's arms when the other man started to sway dangerously under his touch.

Only a heartbeat later Danny's eyes rolled back into his head and with an almost relieved sigh he sagged weakly in Steve's grip.

"Officer down, I need an ambulance!" McGarrett shouted hoarsely over his shoulder toward the arriving policemen, returning his concentration to his fallen friend without waiting for an answer. He was actually surprised that Danny lasted that long before his strength gave out.

Steve gently guided Danny's limp body to the ground, quickly checking pulse and breathing before he put him in a stable recovery position. Crouching by his partner's side, his hand on the smaller man's shoulder for Danny's sake as well as for his own, he watched over his friend, only briefly averting his eyes when Yoko slowly limped over to his side to finally enfold her little daughter in her arms.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking down at him with tears in her eyes, her arms tightly wrapped around Asuka who was already fast asleep, her small head resting comfortably on her mother's shoulder. Steve nodded once but before he was able to give an answer, three paramedics appeared out of nowhere, one of them immediately guiding the woman and her child to a waiting ambulance while the other two knelt down next to Steve and Danny.

They worked fast and efficiently and only a few minutes later McGarrett watched how they loaded Danny into the waiting ambulance, his partner already with an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, a blood pressure cuff around his left arm and hooked to a portable ECG.

Torn between his need to stay at Danny's side and his duty as a law enforcement officer he looked at Danny's unconscious form, running his hand over his hair in utter frustration. Except Danny he was the only other person who actually knew what had been happening and as much as he wanted to go along with his partner he knew that he had to stay just a little bit longer to explain the situation to the other police officers.

"Where are you taking him?" he finally asked hoarsely, throwing a last worried glance at his friend before the paramedics closed the doors of the ambulance.

"Queens," the smaller one of the two answered a bit brusquely but with a reassuring smile. "Sorry, but we have to go now."

Staring after the leaving ambulance, Steve took a deep breath and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket while he determinedly walked over to the waiting police officers. The faster he got this over and done with the sooner he would be able to return to Danny's side.

"Chin? Is Kono with you?" he said into his phone just a moment later without wasting any time for a proper greeting. "Good, listen. One of you needs to go directly to Queens to look after Danny and I need the other one joining me here at the crime scene… I'll explain later, okay?" Nodding shortly, Steve was glad that his colleagues just did what he wished without asking any questions. "Thanks guys, see you soon."

Forty-five minutes later McGarrett ran his hands over his hair and face for at least the thousandth time, almost bursting with nervous impatience after he'd explained in detail the whole situation to the cops. He'd also made sure that there were enough guards who accompanied Emilio and Enrique to the hospital, the one man still knocked-out from Steve's more than efficient kick while his brother had suffered a gunshot wound to the right shoulder.

Caroline had been taken into police custody; she was sitting in the backseat of a black-and-white, hands cuffed behind her back. She looked daggers not only at Yoko and their daughter but also and foremost at Steve who in her opinion was responsible for the total miscarriage of her plan.

It had been only a short while ago when the familiar sound of Chin's motorbike had finally filled the air and Steve thought that never before had he been so glad to see the older man. Quickly explaining what had been happening he looked at Chin, taking a deep breath before he said slowly, "Chin, listen, I…"

"It's okay, brah," Chin interrupted him with a brief smile as he put his hand on Steve's shoulder. "I got this; you go and look after Danny."

"You sure?" Steve replied hesitantly.

"I have everything under control," Kelly confirmed with a calm nod of his head, cutting off any further objections his boss might have. "Tell Kono to meet me at the police station. We'll talk to the two women and find out about Caroline's motives."

Gently pushing Steve to leave the crime scene he added sincerely, "And keep us updated on Danny's condition, okay?"

"Will do," McGarrett said, flashing his colleague a thankful smile before he whirled around and hurried back to the place where they'd left the Camaro.

The drive to the hospital was luckily fast and uneventful and when Steve rushed into the building barely fifteen minutes later he was immediately greeted by Kono's excited voice.

"Boss, over here," she waved from a small waiting area at the other side of the entrance hall where she'd obviously been waiting for his arrival.

"Any news on Danny?" Steve asked without preamble when he'd approached her, tiredly plopping down into one of the chairs.

The knot in his stomach loosened a little bit when he saw the bright smile coloring Kono's features but it wasn't before he actually heard her speaking out loud the next sentences that he also allowed a relieved smile to creep across his face.

"I just talked to Danny's doc," the young woman started her explanations. "Danny regained consciousness on his way to the CT, which is negative by the way. No signs of bleeding, just a nasty concussion. The wound on his temple has been stitched up and he has two cracked ribs." The smile on Kono's face became even brighter when she locked eyes with her boss and finished her statement. "Doc says with a little bit of rest he'll be fine. He needs to stay another 24 to 48 hours for monitoring but he will be fine."

* * *

Danny was coming awake very slowly, totally confused for a good few minutes about the where and when. With his eyes still closed he tried to remember what had happened and why his head throbbed painfully in synch with his heartbeat. Licking his cracked lips he took a deep breath, immediately regretting it when he felt a bandage tightly wrapped around his aching ribcage.

Breathing slowly and not too deeply in and out a few times the headache started to retreat until only a dull pressure behind his right eye remained and the decreasing pain finally seemed to make space for his memories.

He remembered the two women, the crying child, Humpty and Dumpty, the shooting and most of all the overwhelming desire to give in to the pain in his head. The last thing he was aware of was that he'd tried to protect the little girl, shielding her with his own body. No, that wasn't correct; the last thing he remembered was waking up in a hospital bed with a doctor looming over him, telling him something about a concussion and some tests they needed to run.

Yeah, well, he could have figured out the concussion part on his own – Danny guessed that a hit to the temple and another one to the back of his head would definitely be enough to rattle his brain. Slowly raising his right hand to his head he wasn't surprised to find a large patch on his right temple, probably covering a few stitches.

Swallowing against the raspy feeling in his throat Danny slowly blinked his eyes open and took in his surroundings. He soon figured out that the pain in his head was manageable as long as he didn't make any stupidly fast movements. The hospital room he was in was dimly lit; the clock on the wall opposite his bed told him that it was half past eleven. The fact that he wasn't hooked to any machines and that only one IV line was sneaking its way into his left arm probably meant that his condition was not too bad.

Fumbling around, Danny finally found the button to raise the bed and a short moment later he was greedily gulping down the glass of water that had been sitting on his bed stand. Sighing contentedly when the cold liquid soothed his throat and his lips he put the glass back, just in time to see the door handle moving down and the door quietly swinging open.

Playing absently with the cell phone in his hand, Steve was entering Danny's hospital room, stopping dead in his tracks when he took in the scene in front of him. Staring open-mouthed at his partner, Steve's left hand was still wrapped around the door handle and Danny was barely able to suppress a chuckle when he watched Steve's totally astonished expression.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Danny said quietly, clearing his throat to get rid of the last bit of scratchiness. "Not the most flattering expression, Steven, if I might add that."

Furrowing his brow in slight confusion Steve stood there for another moment before a tentative smile finally began to play around his lips. He closed the door in one swift move and rushed over to Danny's side.

"Hey, good to see you awake," he said, beaming with joy while he let his gaze travel over his friends form. "How are you feeling? You okay? Do you need anything? Do you want me to call a nurse or the doc?"

Now it was up to Danny to raise his eyebrows, looking at Steve with an expression of open amusement. "Wow," he said, twisting his mouth into a surprised expression. "I think that was a new record. I can't remember another time when you actually used so many words in a row. Take care that you don't overexert yourself."

"Very funny, Danno," Steve answered, slightly rolling his eyes but still grinning brightly. "I guess if you are able to make fun of me you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Danny said, grinning back at Steve while he tried to find a more comfortable position, carefully stretching his tired limbs. "I've a slight headache and my ribs are telling me that it's not a good idea to take a deep breath, but all things considered, I feel alright. Do you know how long I'm supposed to stay?"

"Whoa, easy there, just take it one step at a time," Steve replied, staring at his partner as if he'd lost his mind. "You have to stay at least another 24 to 48 hours."

"That's good," Danny sighed relieved, snuggling deeper into the pillows while he tried to stifle a yawn. "It's actually quite comfortable in this bed." Nodding at the cell phone in Steve's hand he just went on without giving his partner the chance to reply to his statement. "Who did you talk to?"

"What?" Steve asked a little bit confused about Danny's rapid change of topic. Following his partner's gaze he noticed that he still had his fingers wrapped around his phone. "Oh, I talked to Chin and Kono, they found out about Caroline…" Abruptly interrupting himself he narrowed his eyes and closely watched his partner. "It's late and according to the doc you should be resting. I think that can wait until tomorrow."

"Yeah, alright," Danny replied, waving his right hand through the air to dismiss Steve's argument. "I told you I'm fine, so just tell me, okay?"

"You sure you feel up to it?" Steve tried once more to reason with his partner, finally stowing away the cell phone into one of the pockets of his beige cargo pants.

"Steven, please," Williams huffed out impatiently. "I'm waiting so just start to talk."

"Okay, okay," Steve grinned calmingly, grabbing a white plastic chair and settling down next to Danny's bed. "The story is actually not too complicated. After three and a half years of marriage, Yoko and Caroline had come to the conclusion that their relationship had reached a dead end. They were arguing a lot and finally agreeing to a divorce. Neither of the women wanted to abandon their little daughter, so Caroline obviously decided to take matters into her own hands."

McGarrett knew that the special topic of divorce and child custody must hit his partner pretty close so he didn't want to give Danny the chance to think about it longer than necessary. But before he could continue, Danny interrupted him with a pensive shake of his head. "You know, I should probably be on Caroline's side but her measures were a little bit extreme, don't you think?"

"That they were indeed, Danno," Steve nodded his approval, trying to go on with his story but Danny interrupted him another time.

"What about Humpty and Dumpty? How do they come into play?" Williams asked, throwing Steve an expectant look.

"Who?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow as he stared back at his partner in total confusion.

"Seriously, Steven?" Danny replied, staring open-mouthed at his partner but there was absolutely no sign of recognition on the other man's face. "You don't know who Humpty Dumpty is? Haven't you ever read…" His voice trailed off when he waved his hands through the air, still looking at Steve in unbelieving surprise. "Never mind," he interrupted himself, gesturing Steve to go on with his story.

"The two men are Emilio and Enrique Escobedo, twin brothers originally from Montreal, Canada," Steve said, pausing briefly to make sure that he had Danny's full attention. "It turned out that Caroline had a love affair with both brothers at the same time, and they were obviously so in love with her that she was easily able to convince them to help her in her plan to get rid of Yoko."

Raising his eyebrows Danny began to slowly shake his head as he tried to process what Steve had just told him. "Okay, let me just summarize that," he said slowly, still shaking his head in surprise. "Caroline was married to another woman but at the same time she had an affair with two men?"

"Yeah, I know, don't ask me," Steve replied when he saw the expression of complete bewilderment on Danny's face. "I have absolutely no idea what's going on inside a woman's head."

Sitting in contemplative silence for a few minutes, McGarrett finally noticed how Danny's eyelids slowly began to droop and that his friend was obviously having trouble staying awake any longer. Quietly standing up, Steve put away his chair before he returned to Danny's side.

"Hey Danno," he said gently, smiling down at the other man who was barely able to stifle a yawn. "I think I'll let you rest. Get some sleep, okay? I'll be back in the morning." Briefly closing his hand around Danny's forearm he stepped back and headed for the door.

"Okay," Danny sighed tiredly, not really bothering to keep his eyes open any longer. "See you tomorrow."

Steve had almost reached the door when he turned around and said with a small smile, "Oh, one last thing. Next time we should think twice before we follow the white rabbit, don't you think? Even if it is sending SOS signals…"

A bright grin spread across Danny's face and with his eyes still closed he chuckled softly, "So, after all you do know who Humpty Dumpty is. I must admit I'm impressed, I thought it was obvious that you had not the slightest idea of great world literature, my well-read friend."

"Well, never assume the obvious is true," Steve replied with a twinkle in his eye. "Good night, Alice," he said before he opened the door and left Danny's room.


	5. Never answer a telephone that rings

**Disclaimer:  
**They are still not mine – damn!

**Thanks:  
****JazzieG**, thank you so much for betaing and for your comments and for all your time and patience with my stories – this piece of Danny whump is all for you!  
**rewob17**, thanks for pushing me in the right direction when I got stuck :-)

**Notes:  
**1) I made a few little changes after betaing, so all remaining mistakes are my own.  
2) English is not my native language, so please forgive me my mistakes.

* * *

"_Never answer a telephone that rings before breakfast."  
(James Thurber, in Lanterns & Lances (1961))_

* * *

Ever since the ominous ringing of his cell phone had woken him from his peaceful, well-deserved sleep at half past three in the morning, Danny had known that this day was going to end in disaster.

Steve's and his cell phones as well as Steve's jackknife were only a few feet away, staring at him almost mockingly; only a few feet away and yet unreachable in his current situation. Hands and feet tied up to the chair, Danny knew it would be more than difficult to reach the items on the floor but with their two captors gone for the moment this might be his only chance and so he put everything he had into the task at hand.

Using his entire bodyweight he managed to awkwardly move the chair inch by inch closer to his goal, hopping and bouncing like a rabbit on drugs and trying to ignore the pain that flared through his body with every little jump. At the moment Danny had no idea how he would manage to pick up the phone or the knife from the floor but that was something he'd think of when he was there – always provided that he ever got there.

He was still about three or four feet away when the left chair leg got caught up in a small bump in the floor. Danny tried with all his might to stay upright but after dangerously swaying an agonizing long moment the chair finally tipped over and crashed to the floor.

White-hot pain drowned out every other thought when he landed on his side, jolting his injured left hand. Cold sweat was popping upon his brow and gritting his teeth he tried to breathe through the worst of the pain, but the more he tried the worse the pain seemed to get. Squeezing his eyes shut he clenched his right hand into a tight fist so that the fingernails left bloody marks on the base of his palm. His breath came in panted sobs until the pain in his left hand finally retreated to a more bearable level, leaving him breathless and shaky and really pissed about the whole situation.

Slowly opening his eyes he blinked a few times, turning his head to throw a worried look at his partner. His own pain almost forgotten Danny furrowed his brow in deep concern when he took in Steve's unconscious form, slumped down in the second chair, hands and feet also tied up just like Danny's. Breathing fast and shallow, his ashen face covered with sweat, Steve was definitely worse off and the lack of responsiveness from his partner worried Danny more than he cared to admit.

"Come on Steven, time to wake up," Danny whispered urgently into the stuffy air, staring at the other man for another long moment before he sighed deeply and returned his attention to the cell phones and the knife on the floor, grimly determined to reach them before their captors came back.

* * *

_Five hours earlier_

Danny startled awake and bolted upright in his bed when the shrill chirping of his cell phone sounded loudly through the pitch-black bedroom. His heart throbbing in his chest he stared into the darkness, for a short moment not really sure where he was.

Throwing a look at the small display of his phone he breathed out an annoyed groan – both about the fact that it was only 3:32 in the morning and that it was his partner who was calling at this godforsaken hour of the night.

"I hope for your sake that this is really, really, really important," Danny mumbled under his breath while he snatched the phone from his bed stand, the blinking display shedding just enough light for him to get an impression of his surroundings.

"Steven," he said hoarsely, a fake smile coloring his voice. "How can I help you?"

"Danny, the Governor wants to see us," McGarrett answered without preamble or without apologizing for the night-time disturbance.

"Very funny," Danny replied tiredly, his thumb already moving toward the display to cut off the call. "Good night, you jokester."

"I'm not joking," Steve exclaimed urgently and now that he was paying attention Danny could hear the sound of a car engine in the background. "I'm on my way; I'll pick you up in about ten minutes."

"You have to be kidding me," Williams huffed out, dropping back onto the pillows with a loud sigh and covering his eyes with his left forearm. "It's half past three in the morning."

"I know that, Danny, and the Governor called me at exactly 3:19, telling me that he wants to see us immediately."

There was a short pause and Danny was pretty sure that he'd heard Steve stifling a yawn before McGarrett ordered tiredly, "So, get your butt into gear – I'll be there in ten."

* * *

"I really need a coffee," Danny yawned when they reached the Governor's mansion at exactly 3:53, surprised about the fact that quite a lot of windows in the huge house were brightly lit.

"Yeah, me too," Steve agreed longingly, leading the way to the white entrance door.

Before they were able to knock or ring the bell the door opened and none other than Governor Denning himself greeted them tersely but not unfriendly.

"Commander, Detective, thank you for coming so fast," he said with a nod of his head, gesturing toward a room to his left. "This way please."

Denning looked even more tired than Steve and Danny were feeling; his usual strong gait was a bit scuffing, his pants and shirt slightly rumpled, jacket and tie totally missing.

To Steve's amazement and Danny's pleasure he didn't lead them into his office but instead into a large, cozy kitchen where he immediately plopped down onto a wooden chair. At the other end of the room a young woman was preparing sandwiches and small cupcakes, totally absorbed in her task of neatly decorating the food on a large silver tray. The Governor obviously didn't mind her presence, grabbing the large cup that was waiting for him on a small square table. A strong scent of coffee filled the air and Danny's mood increased a little bit when Denning said quietly, "Coffee's over there; please help yourselves."

The dark-skinned man waited patiently until his visitors had poured themselves a cup before he nodded at the two free chairs at the other side of the table.

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry about the early disturbance but I got a call about an hour ago," the Governor started to explain, taking a large sip of his coffee before he went on with a little sigh. "I'm not too happy about the whole situation but the matter might be of immense importance for the Hawaiian economy."

He looked up to meet Steve's and Danny's gaze and then asked slowly, "Do you know who Victoria Victory is?"

"Who?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion while Danny hesitantly nodded his head.

"She's one of those Hollywood starlets, right?"

Denning nodded in affirmation which caused Steve to look at his partner in surprise, "And how do **you** know her?"

"Remember that horrible action movie you dragged me to a few weeks ago?" Williams replied, shaking his head when he thought about the most stupid plot he'd ever seen in his life. "The one with the thirty minute car pursuit and the showdown with the three helicopters and the train?"

"Oh, yeah," Steve said with a huge grin. "I really liked it."

Rolling his eyes, Danny once more shook his head when he mumbled under his breath, "What a surprise."

"Anyway," he said louder, clearing his throat. "Remember that blonde chick? That was Victoria Victory."

"There was a woman in that movie?" Steve asked in utter and genuine confusion, still dwelling on the memory of all the adrenaline-filled action scenes.

"Yes Steven, there was a woman," Danny answered through gritted teeth, flashing the Governor an apologetic grin. "The one who was screaming the whole time and who was really annoying, you know?"

"Well," Denning interrupted them, a hint of amusement in his dark voice. "She's obviously really annoying in real life too," he stated dryly.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Steve and Danny stared open-mouthed at the Governor, not really knowing if they should be laughing or crying.

Victoria Victory was not only a more or less famous starlet with a stupid name but also married to Lenny Peters, one of Hollywood's most successful and richest producers who was just about to look for the right place to shoot his new, highly anticipated TV series.

"I'm not happy about the prospect of having another film production team on the Islands," Governor Denning said, briefly distorting his mouth before he continued. "But everything Peters touched so far was a gold mine and if he plans to shoot here, Hawaii in general and Oahu in particular will have a lot of advertisement for free and I'm sure that the increase in tourists will be remarkable."

"Uhm, I don't think I can follow," Steve said after having shared a confused look with his partner. "What exactly do you need Five-0 for, Sir?"

"Well Commander, Peters' wife decided two hours ago that she will fly here today and…"

"She decided that at two o'clock in the morning?" Danny blurted out, tiredly interrupting the Governor who looked back at him in mild amusement.

"Miss Victory is currently in New York," Denning explained slowly, taking another sip of coffee as he observed Danny over the edge of his cup. "And I'm sure you are aware of the fact that it's not the middle of the night there right now."

"Yeah, sure," Danny mumbled sheepishly, trying to ignore the smirk that had appeared on McGarrett's lips. He rubbed his right hand across his face and stifled a yawn; it was definitely way too early for his brain to work properly but fortunately he was also much too tired to really care about what the other two men in the room might be thinking right now.

"You want us to babysit her," Steve guessed, barely suppressing an annoyed sigh when he saw Denning nod in affirmation.

"I know that this is not what you normally do," the Governor said quickly, lifting his hand to stop Steve from raising any objections. "She will stay for maybe two or three days and she doesn't want her presence here to become public, because she apparently had some stalker issues in the last few months. She got hate mail, there was a burglary in one of the houses she and Peters own and there has even been an attempted knife assault."

Denning looked up from his cup and his dark eyes glistened in the bright light of the kitchen lamp when he said quietly, "I need Five-0 to make sure that Miss Victory is safe as long as she stays on our Islands. You will be the only ones who know that she is here. Find her a nice, comfortable house where she can enjoy whatever she wants to do and make sure she has everything she needs. Or in other words, just make her happy. Because when she is happy, her husband will be happy and a happy producer will bring us money and tourists."

Standing up from his chair in one swift move Denning made clear that the conversation was over and that he wouldn't tolerate any arguments. "Miss Victory will arrive in a private plane early this evening. That should give you enough time to prepare anything for her stay."

* * *

"I need more coffee," Danny groaned tiredly, not bothering to hide the huge yawn that made its way to the surface. He pushed open the glass doors to their office and walked directly toward the coffee machine, leaving it to Steve to boot up the computers.

The drive from the Governor's mansion to the office had been unusually quiet, only interrupted by the two short phone calls that ordered the missing two Five-0 members to come to work. Neither Steve nor Danny had talked much, Danny much too busy trying to keep his eyes open and stay awake and Steve too pissed about the fact that his task force had to play babysitter for an annoying Hollywood starlet.

Danny was just balancing four cups of coffee to the big smart table in the middle of the room when Chin and Kono entered the office. Despite the early hour Chin Ho looked like his normal Zen-like self while Kono was dressed in a short, skinny black dress, her black high heels clattering loudly through the early morning office.

"Wow," Danny said pleasantly surprised, briefly forgetting his tiredness; he almost dropped one of the cups when he took in Kono's appearance.

"Sorry, I didn't have time to change," Kono explained apologetically, nodding toward Steve who also stared at the young woman, her choice of clothing obviously finding his approval. "You said it was urgent, Boss?"

"Oh, I don't mind," Danny chimed in before Steve was able to give an answer. "Very nice dress, rookie," he said with a wink of his eye. "Your Adam is a lucky guy; I hope he appreciates what he's got."

Giving Danny a bright smile, Kono nodded briefly before she took the offered cup of coffee and turned toward McGarrett. "So, what do we have?" she asked curiously.

It took only a few minutes to repeat the Governor's orders and after Steve and Danny had finished their explanations they all agreed that this was the most stupid task ever in the history of Five-0. They spent some more moments to rant about Denning's wishes in particular and about Hollywood starlets and film producers in general before they bowed to the inevitable and started to plan their actions for the following days.

The first step was to find a house for Victoria Victory to stay, a task that naturally fell to Chin and Kono. With their huge number of relatives on the Island it shouldn't be too difficult to find the perfect place, and they already had a few locations in mind.

In the meantime Steve and Danny would go to the airport, making sure that everything was prepared for the safe arrival of Victoria's private plane.

Still tired but content with their plan of action the four Five-0 members left their headquarters at shortly after 6 o'clock in the morning, together walking down the stairs toward the parking place. To Steve's and Danny's disappointment Kono had changed into some more convenient clothes she had found in her locker, her artfully pinned-up hair an interesting contrast to the washed-out jeans and the simple top, but with the badge and the weapon clipped to her belt the young woman looked again much more like her usual kick-ass self.

They parted company when they reached their cars with intent to meet in the office at exactly 9 o'clock for a short status report and for planning their further steps.

Little did they know that about an hour ago, back in the Governor's mansion, the young kitchen maid had finally finished her task and put away the silver plate, decorated with sandwiches, cupcakes and other delicacies. She scurried out of the kitchen and pulled out her pink cell phone, totally excited about the fact that her idol – the famous, beautiful, talented and successful Victoria Victory – was visiting the Island. Rapidly typing a short message she sent the wonderful news not only to her three best friends but also to her uncle Pauly who was a mechanic at the airport, hoping that he would be able to sneak her past the security controls so she could catch a close-up look at the wonderful actress. With a dreamy smile on her young face she finally returned back to her duties, totally unaware of the fact that her innocent message had just set off an unforeseen and fateful chain of events.

* * *

Steve and Danny arrived at Honolulu International Airport a good twenty minutes later, driving past the official arrivals and departures area to a much smaller building outside the public sections. There was a small terminal building for the few private planes that landed on the Island, with one single clerk for all the administrative paperwork and one part-time customs officer in case the planes arrived from outside the United States.

Keola Pukui, the big burly Hawaiian administrator who looked a little bit like a smaller version of Kamekona was already awaiting them. He looked well rested and not at all as if he'd been thrown out of bed at half past five in the morning by an unexpected phone call from Five-0. Pukui seemed to be a very competent and friendly man, patiently answering all questions Steve and Danny were asking and giving useful input to the topic at hand.

He led them across the airfield and the small hangar, showing them every tiny bit of the facilities, so that Steve and Danny got an overall impression of the surroundings. Pukui briefly introduced them to two mechanics in blue jumpsuits who were barely looking up from their task, heatedly discussing the best way to fix some kind of motor.

"These are Pauly and Chang, damn good mechanics, but arguing all the time," he said good-humoredly, waving the two men a short greeting.

The terminal building itself wasn't very big, just a small entrance hall, an office and a comfortable waiting area with a few expensive looking armchairs and small coffee tables. Next to that were only three more rooms, a small storage room and of course the restrooms.

The minor size of the facilities and the small amount of staff made it pretty easy for Steve and Danny to come up with a plan that guaranteed Victoria Victory's safety as well as her unnoticed arrival and departure from the airport. In the meantime they had learned by a short message from the Governor that Victoria's arrival in Hawaii was scheduled for 5 pm which gave them more than enough time to prepare everything necessary.

Briefly discussing their next steps the two men decided to head back for the office to meet with Chin and Kono, planning to be back at the airport shortly after lunchtime. Then they would properly check every corner of the hangar and terminal building to make sure there were no hidden stalkers or fanatic fans. Neither Steve nor Danny thought that this amount of preparation was actually necessary, especially because nobody was supposed to know about Victoria's trip to Hawaii, but nevertheless they met with the Governor's wishes. They had accepted their given task and now they would make damn sure that Miss Victory had a pleasant and uneventful stay on the Islands.

After thanking Keola Pukui for his time and patience the two men slowly walked back to the car, the first rays of sunlight were just coloring the sky with a warm red-gold veil. Blinking against the sudden brightness, Williams yawned tiredly, placing his hand on Steve's forearm just when the taller man opened the driver's door of the silver Camaro.

"You know what, babe?" Danny mumbled, unsuccessfully trying to stifle another yawn. "All that coffee… I think I need to go for… well, you know…"

Pointing over his shoulder toward the building they had just left, Danny lightly shrugged his shoulders when Steve stared down at him an amusement.

"Seriously, Danno?" he asked grinning. "You can't wait till we're back at the office? Sometimes you're such a girl."

"Yeah, whatever," Danny waved off good-humoredly, turning around to go back into the terminal building. "You not coming? I know you had at least as much coffee as I had."

"Nah, I'm good," McGarrett shook his head, never admitting that he indeed could use the restroom too. But after he'd teased Danny about it, he never in a lifetime would admit that.

"Sure you are," Danny answered, knowingly raising his eyebrows. "I'll be right back," he said before he vanished out of Steve's sight and into the building.

* * *

Not much later Williams left the restroom and turned to the left, slowly walking along the short corridor toward the exit. Grinning he allowed himself a little more time than truly necessary just to annoy Steve, because what was better than starting a new day with teasing his partner.

Danny had just passed the small but luxury waiting area when he suddenly felt a strong, painful kick to the back of his knees and he couldn't prevent his legs from giving way. He crashed onto the floor with a pained and surprised groan but before he was able to turn around to have a look at his attacker he felt a sweaty hand on the back of his neck while a meaty arm tightly closed around his throat.

Struggling feverishly against his unknown captor Danny tried with all his might to escape from the dangerous situation he was in. He breathed in the scent of the man behind him, a sickly mixture of motor oil and old sweat while he forcefully kicked his legs and dug his fingernails deep into the bare arm that pressed against the sides of his neck in a vain attempt to loosen the grip.

But Danny himself had used that very same technique before and he knew that he had not the slightest chance to escape the chokehold and avoid the inevitable. Very soon the blood flow to his brain would effectively be cut off and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Danny's breathing quickened and there was an annoying buzzing in his ears. His heart beat faster and faster in his chest when the edges of his vision started to gray.

Only belatedly he remembered the gun that was clipped to his belt and he dropped his right hand, desperately fumbling for his weapon. His legs started to tremble; his heart rate increased even more and black and white dots flashed before his eyes. Danny's fingers just brushed across the handle of his gun and the sensation of the cold metal against his fingertips was the last thing he remembered before his body twitched once and everything became dark.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing?"

Keola Pukui's voice was nothing more than an angry whisper when he stared wide-eyed at the scene that he had just witnessed. With a short glance through the entrance door he saw Commander McGarrett sitting in the driver's seat of the shiny Camaro, impatiently drumming his hands against the steering wheel and totally oblivious to what had just happened to his partner.

Rushing into the corridor he came to a halt next to his two mechanics Pauly and Chang who were just bending over the prone form of Detective Williams, busy securing the unconscious man with his own handcuffs.

"We're just making sure that no one accidentally reveals our little secret," Pauly answered coldly, rising to his full height when he approached his boss, his hands crossed behind his back.

"I gave you permission to use the additional hangar as a hide-out for all the stolen goods you bring from your little nocturnal activities, but I also told you to keep a low profile," Pukui hissed angrily, agitatedly motioning toward the body on the floor. "He's a cop, for Heaven's sake, and not just any cop, he's with Five-O. What the hell where you thinking?"

"We know that he's a cop," Pauly retorted tersely, suddenly bringing his hands to the front and pointing Danny's weapon directly against Pukuli's head. "But you have no idea what we actually do in your little hangar, _boss_." He stressed the last word with a taunting smile as he pressed the gun even tighter to the other man's forehead, suppressing a chuckle when Pukuli's angry scowl turned into a frightened whimper.

"For a man as big as you, you are a real wuss," the second mechanic said without looking up. He was still bent over Danny's body, making sure to keep the cop silent when he woke up. But until now Danny hadn't shown the slightest sign of coming round, a fact that surprised Chang a little bit, because normally such a chokehold he had used only led to a very short unconsciousness. Well, maybe he'd held the grip a little bit too long, but after all, what did that really matter? Sooner or later the cop would be dead anyway.

"What… what are you planning to do now?" Pukuli stammered anxiously, his gaze flickering unsteadily between his two mechanics.

"We're planning to send you outside to get the other cop in," Pauly said slowly, increasing the pressure on the other man's forehead when Pukuli started to utter an objection. "And I don't care how you do it – I just want to have the other cop in here without causing a scene, are we clear?"

"Oh, and you better not try to warn him, boss," Chang added, nonchalantly playing with Danny's spare gun that he had just snatched out of the ankle holster.

"Now, go!" Pauly said, poking the gun into Pukuli's chubby cheek and forcing the bigger man to turn around. "And then we'll find out what these cops know about our business."

* * *

Steve stopped his impatient drumming on the steering wheel and turned his head toward the terminal building when he noticed a movement at the entrance door.

"About time," he breathed out but the feeling of relief soon turned into confusion when not Danny but Keola Pukui came out of the building and rushed straight toward the Camaro.

Yanking open the driver's door, Steve jumped out of the car when he noticed the expression of worry and fear on the Hawaiian's face. "What's wrong?" he asked curtly, glancing over the other man's shoulder to look for Danny. "Where's my partner?"

"Detective Williams… he… he just collapsed… I don't know what's wrong," Pukuli stammered nervously, unable to meet McGarrett's gaze. "I already called an ambulance… but I thought… I thought you… please, you have to come."

"Where is he?" Steve asked breathlessly, his voice hoarse with bewilderment and concern. "What happened?"

"He's over there," Pukuli said, pushing the heavy entrance door open and pointing toward the corridor that led to the restrooms. "Pauly and Chang are with him."

Quickening his steps Steve rounded the corner, not noticing that Pukuli stayed back a little bit and too absorbed in his worry for his partner to hear the whispered, "I'm sorry."

McGarrett stopped dead in his tracks when he took in the scene in front of him and he narrowed his eyes when his mind and thoughts turned from deeply concerned to coldly determined in the blink of an eye.

Danny was lying on the floor, obviously unconscious but Steve noticed a faint movement behind closed eyelids and a slight frown on Danny's forehead, telling him that his partner was most likely on the brink of coming around. But what really freaked him out was the fact that one of the mechanics they had met earlier was crouching next to the unconscious man, firmly pressing a gun against Danny's left temple.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steve growled menacingly, unknowingly using the exact same words that Keola Pukui had uttered earlier.

He took a tentative step closer to Danny, his thoughts running a mile a minute to find a way out of this crazy situation. Steve had absolutely no idea what had happened and what the Asian mechanic had in mind, he just knew that he didn't like the fact that he held his partner at gunpoint.

"Let him go," Steve said coldly, his fingers twitching towards the handle of his gun, calculating his odds of defeating the other man without risking Danny's life.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice suddenly came from Steve's right side and the former SEAL gritted his teeth in anger, berating himself for not properly paying attention to his surroundings. He looked to the right where the second mechanic, a lean man with blond, curly hair, was just coming out of the waiting area, a gun pointed directly at Steve's head.

Steve growled in frustration when he not only noticed that it was Danny's service weapon the mechanic wielded but that he was also staying just outside Steve's reach, so there was really no way to overcome the other man.

"What are you going to do to them?" Pukuli's trembling voice suddenly asked from somewhere behind Steve, but before he got an answer a shot rang out through the narrow corridor, making Steve flinch in surprise.

He turned around just in time to watch Pukuli gaping down at himself in unbelieving terror before the big Hawaiian man just like that silently collapsed onto the floor, a sickening crimson stain of blood rapidly spreading over the front of his shirt.

"I think that's no longer of your concern, _boss_," the mechanic who crouched next to Danny's still unconscious form chuckled coldly, making a show of blowing away the imaginary smoke from the barrel of his gun before he pointed the weapon back at Danny's head.

Shifting his gaze to Steve who stared at him with barely hidden anger Chang said softly, "And you – kneel down, hands behind your head. Oh, and you better behave or the blond Haole cop here is the next one to die."

* * *

For the second time that day Danny startled to awareness, but this time not from a healthy sleep but from an unwanted and highly unexpected black-out.

Coming round with a large gulp of air, he blinked his eyes open, trying to find out what had happened. His heart was hammering in his chest and there was an uncomfortable pressure behind his eyes that made it really difficult to concentrate on his surroundings.

Danny knew that he was lying on a cold hard floor, but he could honestly not think about the where and when. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried to raise his hands to rub his face, but the movement was cut short and once he felt the cold handcuffs around his wrists his memories came back with a vengeance.

"What the hell…" Danny breathed out, his brow furrowing in confusion when he opened his eyes and his gaze fell upon his partner who was kneeling a few steps away, hands clasped behind his back and wearing the funniest expression Danny had ever seen on him; but considering the situation they were apparently in, Danny refused for once to make a comment about the mixture of concern, annoyance and angry frustration. Instead he cleared his throat and asked hoarsely, "You okay?"

"No, I'm not," Steve huffed out, raising his eyebrows and clearly annoyed by that stupid question but at the same time noticeably relieved about the fact that his friend seemed to be alright. "These two clowns here knocked you out, killed Pukuli in cold blood and are now holding our own weapons to our heads," he said in an almost Danny-esque rant, which earned him a small, impressed grin from the blond man.

"Okay, enough of that," Chang interrupted their conversation, his gun still aimed at Danny's head when he rudely yanked the smaller man to his feet.

"Whoa," Williams exclaimed in surprise, trying to keep upright when the pressure behind his eyes increased from the sudden movement and a bout of dizziness hit him. "Take it easy, okay?" he murmured angrily, squeezing his eyes shut once more and taking a few deep breaths until the dizziness had finally vanished completely.

His legs felt like rubber when Chang pushed him forward but Danny tried his best to not let the other man notice that detail. Sharing a quick look with Steve, the two friends silently agreed to overcome their captors at the first possible opportunity. With hands cuffed behind their backs that wouldn't be an easy task but the determined and angry look on Steve's face told Danny that right now everything seemed to be possible.

But neither Danny nor Steve got a chance to make the first move, their two captors obviously knew exactly what they were doing. They led Steve and Danny out of the terminal building and inside a small storehouse a short distance away, always paying attention to their every move. Chang and Pauly seemed to be a well-oiled team and just like their prisoners they were able to communicate without words. They kept enough distance to be just out of kicking range but at the same time stayed near enough, so that even the worst shooter in the world wouldn't miss his target.

When Pukuli had Steve and Danny shown around earlier, they had already thrown a short glance into the storehouse which was crowded with lots and lots of boxes of all sizes and colors but at that time they hadn't noticed the three chairs and the small table in the far-away corner of the building. A dirty white sheet had been carelessly thrown over the table to cover whatever items were placed on the wooden surface.

The air inside the building was stale and moldy; myriads of dust particles were dancing in the rays of light that came through the few tiny windows and Danny had to suppress a coughing fit when he breathed in all the different smells. There was barely space to walk because the boxes were stacked regardless of their different sizes and some of them looked dangerously close to toppling down.

A few steps before they'd reached their intended goal the four men had to pass an especially narrow gap and Danny felt a rush of adrenaline surging through his body when he exchanged a quick look with his partner. Steve's nod was barely visible and Danny tensed his muscles in preparation for the upcoming fight.

Without warning McGarrett whirled around and a well-placed kick later, Pauly's weapon slipped uselessly out of his grip when he awkwardly crashed into the pile of boxes behind him. Steve followed him immediately but he had to make a jump to the left when the boxes swayed for a short moment and finally toppled over. One of the boxes smashed to pieces right in front of Steve's feet, scattering little packages filled with white powder all over the grimy floor. With his hands cuffed behind his back Steve had a hard time to keep his balance and he tumbled sluggishly against another wooden box, hissing out a pained curse when the impact sent a bolt of pain through his right hip.

In the meanwhile Danny had also turned around to take care of the second mechanic. Bending his head he brought his right shoulder forward and rammed with all his strength into the bigger man behind him which caused them both to stumble backwards. But Chang was almost a head taller than Danny and a good few pounds heavier and with that advantage in size and weight he managed to stay upright and before Williams knew what had happened the fight was over and he found himself lying on the floor, blood running down from a deep cut in his lip where Chang's weapon had hit him only a moment ago.

Oblivious to his partner's current situation Steve had regained his balance; quickly stepping over the contents of the shattered box he approached Pauly, but the blond mechanic jumped to his feet just before Steve had reached him. Having learned from his previous mistake and taking advantage of the fact that Steve was unable to use his hands, he stepped closer to McGarrett so that Steve wasn't able to place another kick. Despite Steve's best efforts to gain the upper hand he didn't stand the slightest chance against Pauly's punches and after a few well-placed blows to his face and to his unprotected liver region he collapsed to the floor, squeezing his eyes shut as he wheezed and gasped for air.

"Don't try that again," Pauly exclaimed angrily. He stared down at McGarrett for a short moment, an evil grin creeping its way across his lips before he suddenly rammed his right foot into Steve's guts. "I hope I made myself clear?" he asked almost friendly, quickly bending down to pick up his weapon before he returned his attention to Steve who had curled himself into a tight ball as he tried to catch his breath.

"Get up," Chang said coldly a few feet away, cocking his weapon and aiming it at Danny's head, confident that Pauly was able to take care of the second cop.

Licking his split lip and spitting out a bit of blood Danny glared at the man before he laboriously struggled to his feet only to be immediately dragged over to the table and rudely pushed into one of the chairs.

"You be a good little cop and do what I say," Chang said, bending a little bit forward so that he was face to face with Danny. "Or my partner shoots your partner." He chuckled briefly about his own low pun before he turned serious, awaiting Danny's confirmation that finally came in the form of a short angry nod.

"I'm sorry but I can't hear you," Chang replied snappily, slapping his hand hard against Danny's right cheek. "What did you say?"

"I said," Williams hissed out between gritted teeth, trying not to flinch when the other man once more raised his hand. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Good," the dark-haired mechanic exclaimed happily while he pulled a bundle of black zip ties out of the breast pocket of his jumpsuit. He quietly opened the handcuffs and not even a minute later he had tied Danny's left wrist to the armrest of the chair with one of the zip ties. Not bothering to completely remove the handcuffs so that they uselessly dangled from Danny's right wrist, he repeated the action with the other arm, ignoring the pained groan that escaped his prisoner when the handcuffs uncomfortably pressed against the bones of his wrist.

Kneeling down Chang also wrapped some zip ties around Danny's ankles to secure his legs to the chair legs before he finally rudely ransacked Danny's pockets. Pulling Danny's cell phone out of his right pocket he carelessly tossed the black device onto the small table and then circled the chair until he came to a rest directly behind Danny's back and pressed his weapon against Danny's head.

"Your turn," he gestured at Pauly who grinned back at him and forced McGarrett to get up and sit down into the second chair, also firmly tying Steve's arms and legs to the chair. Steve's phone joined the other one on the table, followed by a large jackknife that he had also found in one of Steve's pockets.

"What the hell do you want from us?" Steve growled hoarsely, sharing a quick look with his partner before he turned his focus on the two mechanics and Danny would not have been surprised if the two men had dropped dead from the pure anger in Steve's eyes.

* * *

Danny would have given everything if he felt the tiniest bit of the same confidence Steve was showing. Despite their situation the Ex-SEAL was sitting straight in his chair, every fiber of his body was radiating strength and pride and the total trust that everything would turn out fine in the end.

Williams didn't know if Steve was truly that fearless or if he just put on a good show for their captors – all he knew was that he himself was completely and utterly scared. The whole situation reminded him too damn much of another situation more than eleven years ago… tied to a chair… his partner by his side… two mad men with guns… a load of drugs…

Danny's heart rate increased when his gaze fell on the packages on the floor, some of them ruptured from the impact, scattering their expensive and deadly contents over the floor. The broken box contained at least a hundred of those packages and if every package weighed about a pound then there was more drug money hidden in that old little storehouse than Danny could ever imagine.

His gaze flickered to the two mechanics who had walked a few steps away, quietly talking just out of Steve's and Danny's earshot. Trying to find out what they had in mind, Danny felt a bead of sweat running down his face when the memories of that fateful day in September 2001 resurfaced once more. He could still hear Grace's agonized moan, her whispered "Danny" the last word she'd ever spoken in this world and he swallowed forcefully to keep his emotions at bay.

"Danny? You alright?"

The Jersey cop startled when the soft-spoken question pulled him from his unwelcome flashback. Blinking a few times he slowly turned his head and his eyes cleared when he met Steve's worried gaze.

"What?" Danny asked hoarsely, licking his dry lips; he wasn't really sure if Steve's words actually required an answer. Straightening his shoulders he took a deep breath, trying to shake off the gloomy cobwebs of the past. Nothing had happened so far and Danny swore to God that this day would end better than the one in his memories.

"Take it easy, Danno," Steve said lowly, his voice full of sympathy for his partner. "Everything's gonna be alright, okay?"

The unusual soft tone of Steve's voice and the concern in his eyes surprised Danny a little bit until he came to the conclusion that McGarrett obviously knew exactly what was going on inside his partner's head and he was grateful for Steve's compassion.

Danny took another deep breath and he finally felt a tiny part of his fears dropping from his troubled mind as he nodded his head and flashed Steve a tentative grin. But before he was able to give an answer Chang and Pauly had finished their conversation and came back to join their two prisoners.

Without a word Chang grabbed the third chair, placed it a little bit in front of Danny by his left side and sat down while Pauly stayed back and observed the whole scene, arms crossed in front of his chest and an expectant smile on his gaunt face. Danny totally disliked that particular look but his attention was distracted when he felt Chang's oily fingers closing around his left pinky finger.

"What the hell are you doing?" Danny hissed out, trying to jerk his finger out of the other man's grip but his tied up wrist made it impossible to get away.

Still keeping completely silent Chang smiled almost friendly and then slowly bent Danny's finger up- and backwards until he felt his prisoner tensing noticeably in his chair.

"Aren't you supposed to first ask a question before you start torturing me, you whackjob?" Williams asked through gritted teeth, trying not to let the other man known how much pain he was already in. The exasperated sigh from his partner told him that his last comment had obviously not been the wisest one, but the words had slipped off his tongue before he'd even thought about them.

"Oh, I'm just making my position clear, Officer," Chang replied softly, bending the finger a little bit further backwards.

"Okay, okay," Danny forced out, fidgeting nervously in his chair. "I get it, okay?" He tensed all his muscles when he felt the hand tightening around his finger but he knew that there was absolutely no way to escape Chang's little game. Pondering for a short while he came to the conclusion that offense was still the best defense, so he added cheekily, "And for the record, it's Detective."

Chang stared at him out of narrowed eyes, obviously not knowing if he should be impressed or angered by Danny's comment. He finally decided to ignore the interjection for the moment and asked matter-of-factly, "What do you know about our business?"

Sharing a brief, confused look with Steve Danny furrowed his brow as he thought about an answer. The scattered packages on the floor spoke for themselves, so it was more than obvious what kind of business Chang was talking about; but the man would probably never believe that neither Steve nor Danny had got the slightest idea about their business before the two men took them hostage.

"Answer my question," Chang said impatiently, twisting Danny's finger even further back. "Now!" he added angrily, all the former feigned kindness gone in the blink of an eye.

"Stop it," Danny groaned out when the pain from his abused finger slowly became unbearable. His whole body was rigid and his muscles were trembling from the effort to stay calm but his breathing came in short, pained gasped and he felt a cold sweat popping up on his forehead.

"We don't know anything about your business," Steve suddenly interrupted from his place a few feet away. He was barely able to ban the anger from his voice and his eyes flickered worriedly over to his partner before he shifted his icy stare back toward Chang. Danny was actually a little bit surprised that it had taken so long before Steve had interfered. "Until you decided to take two law enforcement officers hostage, we had no idea about your little drug trafficking business."

The pressure around Danny's finger reduced a little bit when Chang turned around and concentrated his attention on his other prisoner. It was just enough that the pain retreated to a more bearable level and Danny breathed out a relieved sigh, swallowing a few times as he tried to keep the rising nausea at bay. His pinky finger throbbed mercilessly with every beat of his heart and the pure thought that Chang might touch him again was almost too much.

"Shut up," Chang said slowly, cocking his head a little bit to the right as he eyeballed Steve from head to toe. He exchanged an undefinable glance with Pauly who still stood a few steps away, silently observing the whole scene with growing anticipation. After a brief nod, the blond mechanic unfolded his arms and slowly stepped closer to the small table.

"It's your turn soon enough," Chang added, staring at McGarrett for another short moment before he turned back to his first victim and renewed his grip around Danny's finger. "So, let's try this again, okay?" he asked gently, but with a definite hint of impatience in his dark voice. "What do you know about our business?"

"As he said," Danny replied, briefly squeezing his eyes shut when his face contorted with pain. "We don't know anything."

Gritting his teeth he tried desperately to swallow down the pained moan that built in his chest but he was only half successful and his next breath of air ended in a soft, pitiful whimper. Silently begging for an idea that helped him out of his current situation, Danny stared defiantly at the other man; from the corner of his eye he saw Steve nervously fidgeting in his chair.

"Wrong answer," Chang said coldly and without warning he bent Danny's finger all the way backwards in one swift move.

* * *

Danny literally heard the sickening crunching and popping sound of his joint half a millisecond before the white-hot pain spread from his hand up his arm and right into his brain.

His breath caught in his throat and all the blood drained from his face in the blink of an eye. The rushing in his ears drowned out every other sound and all he perceived was an all-consuming agony that flashed through his whole body until it very slowly settled down in his left hand.

Turning his head to the right and burying his face in his shoulder, Danny tried to ride out the waves of pain, drawing the air in hard, chopped gasps. Never before had he felt a pain as strong as the one right now but squeezing his eyes shut, he tried his best to prevent himself from crying out.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he was finally able to raise his head and opened his eyes. His face contorted with pain, Danny looked straight at the man who was still sitting by his side.

"If you touch me one more time, I swear to God I'll kill you," Danny half hissed and half sobbed, trying with all his might to keep his voice steady as he desperately curled his left hand into a fist as far as his broken finger allowed. "I'll kill you with my bare hands."

"Oh, I don't think so, _Detective_," Chang replied, mockingly emphasizing the last word. Very slowly he once more closed his fingers around Danny's hand, forcing him to open his fist. After a few seconds of struggle, Chang finally gained the upper hand and grabbed Danny's ring finger, causing the blond cop to breathe out an almost inaudible whimper. "There are nine more fingers left, I'm sure you don't mind if I continue with this one?" the dark-haired mechanic asked, shifting a little bit forward in his chair to additionally invade Danny's personal space as he slowly started to bend the finger up- and backwards just like before.

Seeing the other man drawing near and feeling the dirty fingers on his already hurting hand Williams totally acted on instinct and self-preservation when he rocked his upper body forward as much as possible, slamming his head forcefully into the other man's face.

Despite the pain he was in Danny allowed himself a smug little smile when he heard the satisfying crunch of breaking bones and cartilage and watched how Chang sluggishly fell backwards, clutching his bleeding nose as he squirmed on the floor.

Pauly darted forward but despite his injury Chang motioned him to stop, throwing Danny a look of hatred as he struggled to his feet and repositioned the knocked over chair.

"Pauly, why don't you prepare everything for our second guest? I guess we have to try another option…" Chang said muffled, one hand still pressed to his bleeding nose.

Out of the corner of his eyes Danny watched how Pauly nodded obediently and started to remove the dirty white sheet from the small table, not caring that the two cell phones and Steve's jack knife fell to the dusty floor.

The pain in his left hand briefly forgotten, Williams tried to identify what was on the table but his attention was diverted when Chang silently stepped closer and into his line of sight. Instinctively curling his hands once more into fists Danny shrunk back in his chair as far as possible when he saw the expression of pure rage in the other man's bloodied face and the blink of an eye later Chang rammed his right fist against Danny's jaw.

Danny's head snapped sideways and he literally saw white stars dancing in his vision, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth added to the ever-present nausea. He thought he heard Steve shout out for him but the loud ringing in his ears was momentarily drowning out every other sound.

Closing his eyes Danny shook his head to clear the fog in his mind but only a moment later his eyes snapped open again when he felt a touch on his left hand. Diverted by the punch to his face Danny had unconsciously unclenched his fists and before he was able to react Chang had once more grabbed his left ring finger.

"While Pauly is preparing everything for your partner, why don't we try this one more time?" Chang asked, experimentally bending Danny's finger backwards a little bit as he asked his next question. "Why are you here?"

"Please, don't…" Williams breathed out through gritted teeth, even if he had sworn to himself not to beg for mercy. His voice trailed off and his sentence ended in a pained groan when Chang stared at him unperturbed and twisted the finger even more.

"I'm asking this exactly one more time, and I'm strongly recommending you answer my question," he said impatiently, pretending not to notice how Danny fidgeted in his chair. "Why are you here?"

"Stop touching me, you sonofabitch," Danny hissed, his face contorted with pain as he tried to wiggle his finger out of Chang's grip but it was to no avail. He groaned loudly when the dark-haired mechanic reinforced his grip, his whole body trembling as his right hand closed tightly around the armrest.

"We're here because the Governor sent us," Steve interrupted Chang's little game, somehow managing to look angry and worried at the same time as he tried to distract Chang from his partner.

Chuckling softly, Chang reduced the pressure to Danny's finger a tiny bit as he asked good-humoredly, "That wasn't so difficult, was it?" Exchanging a short look with Pauly, he nodded once toward the small table before he said pensively, "But, you see, we already knew that…"

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Steve's gaze travelled from Chang to Danny, but the Jersey cop just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head slightly.

Fumbling with the items on the table which were still out of Danny's sight, Pauly spoke for the first time since the two mechanics had tied Steve and Danny to the chairs. "It so happens that my niece is working at the Governor's mansion," he said slowly, picking up whatever was lying on the table. Danny noticed that Steve suddenly tensed in his chair when the Ex-SEAL was finally able to get a glimpse of the items and the expression on his partner's face made his heart beat faster in his chest. "She texted me earlier this morning, telling me something about some stupid Hollywood bitch who is going to visit the Islands. And she wrote that the police would soon be showing up, which was by far the more interesting part of her message." Sighing softly, Pauly turned around and now Danny was finally also able to clearly see the items in his hands. "I probably shouldn't tell you that, but we have a major delivery planned for this afternoon and your appearance is really endangering our business. There wasn't enough time to move all our goods to a secure location or to postpone the meeting with our customer but the text message from my niece gave us at least enough time to prepare some little things."

Pauly grinned diabolically while he curiously watched the syringe and the small glass vial in his hands for a short moment as if he was seeing them for the first time. Slightly shrugging his shoulders he swiftly removed the security cap from the needle and filled the syringe with the clear liquid from the vial. Judging from his smooth movements this was obviously not the first time he handled such medical items and soon he placed the vial back on the table and carefully pressed the plunger down a little bit to remove all the air from the syringe.

"What is that?" Steve growled slowly, throwing Danny a brief glance before he returned his attention to the man in front of him.

"Oh, that's just something that will help you tell us the truth," Pauly chuckled softly. "Just a little bit of Sodium Pentothal to loosen your tongue."

"Sodium Pentothal?" McGarrett repeated and Danny furrowed his brow when he noticed that Steve slightly relaxed in his chair. Danny knew that Sodium Pentothal was originally a short-acting anesthetic but it was also used as a truth serum to weaken the resolve of the subject. Seeing the expression on Steve's face Danny guessed correctly that his crazy SEAL partner was obviously convinced that he would be able to fight the effects of the drug.

"Yes, Sodium Pentothal," Pauly nodded patiently while he placed the syringe on the table and tried to wrap a black rubber band around Steve's left upper arm.

Tied to his chair Steve was not really able to prevent him from doing so but he tried his very best and wiggled in his chair, rocking his upper body back and forth as far as possible until he succeeded and the rubber band slipped from Pauly's hands and fell to the floor.

"Stop it," the blond mechanic hissed grimly as he bent down to pick up his equipment.

"Or what?" Steve asked derisively, not willing to give in without a fight.

"Or I fear your partner will have to pay for your defiance," Chang interjected quietly, smiling gently at McGarrett as he tightened his grip around Danny's ring finger.

"No, wait," Steve exclaimed immediately when he saw Danny shrinking back in his chair but it was too late.

The friendly smile still plastered on his face Chang turned his gaze from Steve to Danny and without further hesitation he twisted Danny's finger back in one jerky movement.

And this time, Danny screamed.

* * *

Danny wished nothing more than to finally be able to black out but his mind just wouldn't do him that favor. The pain was an all-consuming fire that raced through his veins, drowning out every other feeling. Sagging down in his chair, Danny didn't know if his eyes were open or closed or what was happening around him, all he perceived was the agony that flashed through his consciousness, sending fiery bolts of pain into every part of his body.

The buzzing in his ears covered up every other sound but after a while the annoying noise finally decreased a little bit and he was able to hear his own ragged breaths, each of them ending in a soft, quiet whimper. Biting his lower lip when he heard the pitiful sounds Danny tried to concentrate on anything else than the white-hot fire that was consuming his whole body and after a few deep breaths the pain miraculously decreased to a hard throbbing in his left hand.

Opening his eyes – so they really had been closed – Williams looked up and noticed that three pairs of eyes were following his every movement. Chang and Pauly were staring at him in malicious glee while Steve's eyes showed a mixture of deep concern and barely hidden anger.

"Danny, you alright?" McGarrett asked hoarsely, taking in his partner's pale complexion.

"I'm feeling superb, Steven," Danny hissed with dry sarcasm, trying to stop his body from shivering in shock and pain. He felt his blue striped dress shirt uncomfortably clinging to his back, wet from the sweat that ran down his back.

"OK, enough of that," Chang interrupted their short conversation, a mocking little grin on his thin lips. Gesturing toward his colleague and Steve, he added politely, "Pauly, would you be so kind as to proceed with our guest…"

Without giving an answer, Pauly grinned back before he wrapped the black rubber band around Steve's left upper arm and tightened it.

"Make a fist," he ordered curtly while he grabbed the syringe from the table and checked the contents once again.

Steve shot him a hateful look and gritted his teeth in silent frustration but after a short side glance at Chang who was still sitting dangerously close to Danny, the worry for his partner gained the upper hand so he obeyed reluctantly and curled his fingers into a fist.

"You want to use all of that?" Steve asked grimly when he saw the syringe in Pauly's hand, trying to get the attention of the blond mechanic before he injected him with the drug. "You know that this dose is far too high, right?" He was no doctor but he had seen the effects of Sodium Pentothal before and as far as he knew the amount of liquid in the syringe would probably knock him out immediately.

"Nice try," Pauly replied, tapping the fingers of his left hand against the crook of Steve's arm in search of a vein.

"I would listen to him," Danny threw in; his own pain momentarily forgotten when he saw the expression on Steve's face. He was convinced that Steve was right about the dose and he had no intention to see his partner drugged up to the eyeballs while they were at the mercy of these two crazy drug runners.

"I think, now it's your turn to shut up, Haole," Chang said, briefly nudging Danny's left ring finger to emphasize his point of view. "Are we clear?"

The touch had been gentle, barely more than a light tap against the tip of Danny's finger, but it was enough to send a spike of pain through his whole hand and up his arm right into his brain. Tightly curling his right hand around the arm of the chair Danny squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath as he tried to ride out the wave of pain.

"Yeah, I think we are clear," Danny heard Chang's chuckling answer to his own question over the rushing in his ears. With his eyes still closed he took a few deep breaths until the pain retreated enough to clear the fog of white noise inside his head.

"No, seriously," he then heard Steve trying once more, and Danny's eyes snapped open when he noticed the hint of panic in his partner's voice. "That's far too much, this dose will…"

"Too late," Pauly interrupted him brusquely, swiftly pressing the plunger of the syringe completely down before he removed the needle and the rubber band from Steve's arm and stepped back, not caring about the drops of blood that trickled from the injection site.

Danny had obviously missed how he had inserted the needle but now he watched with growing horror the effects the Sodium Pentothal had on his friend. Once the liquid had been administered to Steve's bloodstream it didn't take long for the drug to do its work. Only a few seconds later Steve started to blink rapidly, his breathing quickened while he swallowed repeatedly. Then he slightly shook his head, his hands tightened around the arms of the chair as he tried to keep himself upright but after a last confused glance at Danny his upper body began to sway. He hesitantly licked his lips and his eyes sluggishly opened and closed a few more times before his head dropped to his chest, his hands lost their grip around the armrests and his whole body became limp.

"Oh, that was quick," Chang said, blowing a low whistle as he slowly stood up and walked over to McGarrett's chair. "But I think the cop was right, you really overdosed him. Or maybe he's just feigning?" Moving closer he grabbed Steve's hair, rudely yanking his head up so that he was able to throw a look at his face.

"Damn," Pauly growled when he realized that Steve was indeed deeply unconscious, angrily throwing the empty syringe back on the small table.

"It's okay," Chang replied cheerfully, carelessly dropping Steve's head before he slapped a hand on Pauly's shoulder. "That gives us a little time to get rid of Pukuli's body."

"Don't go anywhere," he addressed Danny with a wink of his eye, laughing out loud about his own joke. "We'll be right back."

* * *

Danny waited until he was sure that Chang and Pauly had left the small storehouse, then he focused all his concentration on the items on the floor only a few feet away and yet so unreachable. Steve's and his cell phones as well as Steve's jackknife were still lying underneath the small table where they had dropped down earlier and he knew that this might be their only chance to get out of this mess.

Throwing a last concerned look at his friend, Danny shoved the worry for Steve to the back of his mind; right now there was absolutely nothing he could do for him and Danny just hoped that he would be alright and wake up soon.

Closing his fingers tightly around the arms of his chair he fought back a pained groan when the movement sent another wave of pain through his left hand. Danny put together all his strength and used his entire bodyweight to move the chair closer to the small table. With his feet also tied to the chair legs it was an almost impossible task but rocking and jerking his upper body forth and back and left and right he finally managed to make one little awkward jump after the other, trying to ignore the pain that flared through his body with every bounce.

Danny had no idea how he would manage to pick up the phone or the knife from the floor but that problem sorted itself out when the left chair leg suddenly got caught up in a small bump in the floor and despite Danny's best efforts to stay upright the chair finally tipped over and crashed to the floor.

Cold sweat was popping upon his brow and white-hot pain drowned out every other thought when he landed on his left side, jolting his two broken fingers. Squeezing his eyes shut Williams tried to breathe through the worst of the pain but it was to no avail. His breath came in panted sobs and he clenched his right hand into a tight fist, the fingernails leaving bloody marks on the base of his palm as he dropped his head exhaustedly to the cold dusty floor.

Danny knew that he hadn't much time left; he estimated that Chang and Pauly would be back in fifteen, maybe twenty minutes at the most, so he pulled himself together to the best of his ability and slowly opened his eyes when the pain finally retreated to a more bearable level.

Turning his head he looked up to throw a worried glance at his partner; Steve was still slumped down in his chair, his breathing fast and shallow and his ashen face covered with a thin layer of sweat.

"Come on, Steven, time to wake up," Danny whispered urgently before he heaved a deep sigh and turned his attention back to the cell phones and the knife on the floor. "I really could use a little help here."

He had absolutely no idea how long it had taken or how he finally got there but after much wiggling and crawling and cursing Danny had finally managed to move close enough to one of the cell phones to touch it with his fingertips.

He was panting heavily from exhaustion and pain, his left hand throbbing mercilessly in sync with his hammering heartbeat. Danny's shirt and face was covered with dust, uncomfortably mixing up with the sweat that ran freely down his body.

Biting his lower lip Danny stretched out his left hand as far as possible, cursing the uselessness of his two broken fingers; the black zip tie painfully cut into the raw skin of his wrist until he was finally able to drag the cell phone closer. He turned his hand as much as possible to reach the display with the tip of his finger, hissing out another curse when a rivulet of blood trickled down from his abused wrist and after five or six unsuccessful attempts he finally managed to activate the phone.

Pressing a trembling finger to the screen Williams briefly closed his eyes in gratitude that he had Chin's and Kono's numbers on speed dial. Breathing out a tiny sigh of relief when he heard the dialing tone he turned his head toward the other end of the storehouse, hoping with all his might that Chang and Pauly stayed away a little bit longer.

"Hey Danny," Chin's calm voice came over the phone but before he was able to say anything else, Danny interrupted him hoarsely.

"Chin, listen," he croaked out, quickly outlining their messy situation to his teammate. "I think I might be able to free us, but Steve is still unconscious and except for his jackknife we are totally unarmed," Danny breathlessly finished his explanations.

"We'll be there as soon as possible and Kono has already called HPD for backup," Chin replied quickly, the sound of a closing car door and a starting engine in the background telling Danny that his teammates were already on their way.

"Hurry up," Danny begged, sharply turning his head when he suddenly heard a noise from the other end of the storehouse. "I think they're coming back," he whispered, trying to fight back the rising panic as he craned his neck in an attempt to have a better view at the exit door. "I need to hang up, I'll try to call again," he added curtly without giving Chin the chance to react, swiftly ending the call with another tap at the small cell phone display.

Holding his breath Danny stared wide-eyed into the dusty room but he didn't hear any other noises and after a few moments of tense waiting he allowed himself to relax a little bit. He briefly closed his eyes and heaved a tired sigh; all he wanted to do was to give in to his pain and exhaustion and wait for rescue but he knew that as soon as Pauly and Chang came back and found him in his current position he would probably be dead faster than he could say the word 'backup'. So he pulled himself together once more and slowly crawled toward Steve's jackknife that was lying another few feet away.

Danny didn't care any longer about his broken fingers; the pain was now a constant, all-consuming red fire that filled his entire being but he just gritted his teeth and focused his whole concentration on the black knife in front of him, puffing out a relieved sob when he finally reached it.

It was surprisingly easy to open the knife with only three functioning fingers and Danny smiled grimly when the blade glistened faintly in the rays of sunlight that came through one of the tiny windows. Turning around the knife he carefully maneuvered the blade between his wrist and the zip tie and started to cut through the plastic. He was making good progress when the knife suddenly slipped from his trembling fingers, cutting deeply into the base of his thumb and into his already bleeding wrist. Hissing out a pained curse, Danny instinctively retightened his grip around the knife handle before it became even more slippery with his blood and half a minute later he had finally reached his goal.

The piece of plastic snapped open with a soft popping sound and Williams allowed himself a short moment of joy and gratefulness before he swiftly raised his hand and cut through the zip ties around his right wrist and around his ankles as fast as possible.

Struggling to his feet Danny quickly shoved the two cell phones into his pocket before he stumbled over to his partner, his handcuffs still dangling uselessly from his right wrist where Chang had left them earlier.

"Steve?" he asked hoarsely, tightly grabbing Steve's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. "Steve? Can you hear me?"

But Steve was still unresponsive, the rapid up and down of his chest a clear sign that he was alive; nevertheless Danny briefly pressed his fingers against his neck finding Steve's pulse surprisingly strong but much too fast for his liking. After another worried glance at his friend's pale face Danny finally bent down to cut away the zip ties around Steve's feet, closely followed by the ones that immobilized his wrists.

Without the bonds that held him upright McGarrett started to slowly slip down from the chair when Danny pocketed the jackknife and the smaller man had a hard time to catch the limp body before he hit the floor. Grabbing his right wrist Danny wrapped Steve's arm around his own shoulders, at the same time hooking the three uninjured fingers of his left hand into the waistband of Steve's cargo pants, the wounds on his palm and wrist leaving bloody marks on the beige fabric.

Danny knew that he had neither enough time to get away before their two captors came back, nor had he the strength to carry Steve over a long distance in his current shape. Frantically looking around he finally decided to hide behind two large piles of wooden boxes about thirty feet away from their current position. He knew they would leave unmistakable traces on the dusty floor but he just hoped the hide-out would buy them enough time until Chin and Kono showed up.

Slowly dragging his partner away from the chairs and the small table, Danny already grunted with exertion after only a few steps; sweat was dripping from his face and he exhaled a rude curse when his bloody fingers slipped off and he nearly dropped his precious load. Quickly renewing his grip he wasn't able to bite back a hoarse anguished cry when once more a wave of pain rushed through his abused left hand.

After a few agonizing long minutes they had finally reached the chosen hide-out; panting heavily Danny lowered Steve's body to the floor as gently as possible, making sure that his partner rested comfortably before he rushed back a few steps, picking up a large toolbox from the floor in the hope that it contained something he could turn into a weapon.

Steve still hadn't shown the slightest sign of wakening when Danny returned to his side mere seconds later, a fact that caused Williams to furrow his brow in deep concern. He put down the toolbox on one of the wooden boxes and yanked his cell phone out of his pocket, once more dialing Chin's number. The gash on his left palm was still bleeding sluggishly but Danny decided to ignore the deep wound for the moment and pressed the phone to his ear with his left, injured hand, his gaze darting between his unconscious partner and the large door at the other end of the building while he opened up the toolbox and quickly searched through the contents.

"Where are you?" Danny asked breathlessly as soon as he heard Chin's voice at the other end of the line, growling in frustration at the unwelcome answer he got from his teammate.

"We are about ten minutes away," Chin said apologetically. "Can you hang on that long? How's Steve?"

"Still unconscious," Danny replied tersely. "I managed to get us free, but we're still in the storehouse, there's no chance that we are able to get out of here before those two freaks return." His right hand trembled heavily when he briefly stopped rummaging through the tools to wipe the sweat from his face and suddenly he felt a leaden tiredness creeping through his mind and body. "Just hurry up, okay?" Danny breathed out exhaustedly, closing his eyes as he leaned against the wall behind him.

A screeching noise startled him back to awareness and Danny's eyes snapped open when he heard Chang's and Pauly's cheerful voices from outside the storehouse.

"They're back," he whispered into his cell phone before he ended the call and dropped the small device next to the toolbox. As silently as possible he quickly placed two large hammers next to the box, ready to pick them up at any time if he needed an additional weapon.

Pulling Steve's jackknife out of his pocket he flipped it open and soundlessly retreated further into the shadows, taking a deep breath as he waited nervously, ready to defend Steve's and his life to the last breath.

* * *

Danny stood in the shadows; every fiber of his body vibrating in nervous tension, the black jackknife raised protectively, his injured left hand pressed to his chest, leaving crimson bloodstains on the front of his shirt. His eyes were wide-open as he listened to the low voices that wavered through one of the open windows and he figured that he and Steve had maybe two or three minutes left before Chang and Pauly would find out about their escape.

A soft moan, hoarse and barely audible, made Danny wince as if someone had just screamed right into his ear.

"Shhh," he hissed silently, throwing a last glance at the door before he swiftly whirled around and crouched down next to Steve who blinked sluggishly as he tried to focus on Danny's face.

Laboriously propping himself up onto his elbows Steve barely managed to sit up without Danny's help; leaning his back against the wall Steve briefly closed his eyes, puffing out his breath in short laborious gasps.

"Shhh," Danny repeated urgently, lightly placing his injured hand on Steve's shoulder to make clear that right now keeping silent was their highest priority. "Our two friends are back," he whispered a quick explanation, hoping to get through to Steve who looked like he was ready to pass out again at any time. "But backup is on the way, Chin and Kono are just a few minutes away."

"I know," McGarrett replied in a low murmur, fighting to keep his eyes open when he raised his head to look at his friend. "Heard you talking on the phone."

To Danny's immense relief Steve kept his voice low, it was barely more than a faint whisper but Danny suddenly had the bad feeling that he didn't do it on purpose; it seemed that he just hadn't the strength to speak any louder.

Williams was just about to ask Steve if he was alright when the door to the storehouse opened with a screeching sound, causing Danny to turn his head toward the two voices that grew louder with every passing second. He wasn't able to make out any actual words but at the moment the voices still sounded cheerful so he assumed the two men hadn't found the empty chairs so far.

"Stay down," Danny whispered urgently, gently squeezing Steve's shoulder before he once more raised the knife and stood up. Feeling a touch on his left arm he looked down at Steve's hand that weakly gripped his wrist just above his injuries.

"Help me up," Steve wheezed through gritted teeth, already struggling to get to his feet.

"Steven, now is not the time to act the hero," Danny whispered back, half annoyed about Steve's behavior and half worried about his partner's shape. "Stay down."

Stubbornly shaking his head Steve somehow managed with Danny's help to get up, supporting himself on one of the wooden boxes until his legs finally stopped trembling.

"And now give me that before you hurt yourself," McGarrett mumbled exhaustedly, weakly gesturing toward the knife in Danny's hand, his request triggering an annoyed shake of the head from Danny's side.

"You're not even able to stand on your own legs without my help, why on earth would I give you our only weapon?" Danny hissed angrily and slightly confused. He couldn't believe that they were really arguing right now and suddenly the craziness of the whole situation made him chuckle softly.

Staring at his stubborn partner for a long moment Danny pondered on Steve's wish and the longer he thought about it the more he had to admit that Steve could handle the knife a lot better than Danny himself. Danny clearly remembered the camping trip with the Aloha Girls and Steve's vivid demonstration of how to throw a knife, a skill that Danny unfortunately totally lacked.

"Here it is, you freak," Danny finally whispered, hesitantly handing Steve the knife. Furrowing his brow when he saw Steve's heavily trembling fingers he couldn't help but add only half-jokingly, "Just for the record… it's not my fault if you pitch headlong to the floor and stab yourself to death."

Steve's answer was cut short when the two voices from the other side of the room suddenly changed; their tone switching from cheerful to outraged and angry in the blink of an eye. Exchanging a brief look Steve and Danny communicated silently and a second later Steve had taken a few wobbly steps to the left where he was able to hide behind a few large wooden boxes while Danny stayed where he was, once more retreating back into the shadows. He grabbed one of the hammers out of the toolbox, briefly turning it in his right hand to get a feeling for its weight before he closed his fingers tightly around the handle.

"Gentlemen," Chang's voice reverberated loudly through the building just as Danny bent slightly forward so that he was able to peek through a small gap between two boxes. "I'm neither in the mood for hide-and-seek right now nor do I have the time to play your stupid game. I suggest you show yourself, and maybe I can offer you a quick, painless death."

Rolling his eyes about that stupid offer Danny watched how Chang slowly came closer while he motioned Pauly to search the other half of the storehouse. For the first time this day, luck seemed to be on Steve's and Danny's side when their two captors split up and both of them obviously failed to notice the traces on the dusty floor.

Trying to estimate the time until Chin's and Kono's arrival Danny racked his brain for a way to buy some more time but all he came up with was probably the oldest trick in the world. But when Chang constantly drew nearer to their hideout Danny saw no other choice than to simply try his idea.

Reaching into the toolbox next to him he grabbed the first item he got ahold of and in one swift move he tossed the screwdriver as far away from his and Steve's position as possible. The small item whirled through the air for about two seconds, finally hitting another pile of boxes and falling to the floor with a clattering noise.

Chang whirled around toward the sound and Danny could see him narrow his eyes as he stared into the shadows. Raising his weapon the Asian mechanic slowly walked away from Steve's and Danny's hideout, carefully looking behind every box as he made his way through the storehouse.

Exchanging a brief, determined look with Steve, Danny silently left his hiding place and sneaked up on Chang. Hoping that the element of surprise would be on his side he jumped at the man from behind, aiming the large hammer at the side of Chang's head.

But before the makeshift weapon could hit its target Chang whirled around, apparently having been prepared for an attack like that. Defensively raising his right hand he easily deflected the blow, but that move made him lose his grip around the gun and it uselessly dropped to the dusty floor.

Danny's gaze instinctively flickered toward the weapon but only a millisecond later he stumbled slightly backwards, wheezing out in surprise and pain when Chang had immediately taken advantage of the brief lack of attention, hitting his left palm fiercely against Danny's chest.

Luckily Danny recovered fast enough to wield the hammer once more in Chang's direction and this time he managed to land a hit on the other man's shoulder. The short encounter had already used up the majority of Danny's energy; stepping back, he struggled to bring his breath under control while he tried to think about a quick way to end the fight.

Grunting angrily, Chang briefly eyeballed Danny from top to bottom, a smug little grin slowly creeping across his lips when he noticed Danny's obvious fatigue. The two men exchanged a few more hits and punches, cautiously circling each other before Chang finally took advantage of Danny's injuries.

After a feigned punch to Williams' right side the larger man took a little step sideways and aimed the next blow at Danny's injured left hand, closely followed by two quick punches in the gut when Danny cried out in pain and lost his stance. Grinning diabolically Chang watched for a short moment how Danny doubled over, squeezing his eyes shut as he drew in the air in short strangled gasps.

A well placed punch to the left jaw did the rest and Danny slumped to the ground with a hoarse moan, blood running freely from his nose and from a deep cut in his lip. He opened his eyes just in time to watch Chang swiftly bending down to pick up the gun and before Danny was able to struggle to his feet he heard Chang's malicious chuckle and then the cocking of a gun just above his head

Miraculously Danny hadn't lost his grip around the hammer and he shoved all the pain and exhaustion to the back of his mind, gathering his remaining strength as he raised his right hand and aimed the hammer at Chang's knees; but he never got round to actually hitting his target.

Chang's chuckle suddenly turned into a gurgling groan and when Danny looked up he saw the tall Asian swaying on his feet as his left hand tentatively moved to his back where Steve's knife had hit him only a moment ago. The mechanic just stood there for one or two seconds, hesitantly turning around and aiming his gun at his new attacker. He reflexively pulled the trigger over and over again when his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the floor, painfully landing on top of Danny's legs.

Blood poured out from the stab wound on his lower back, the knife still protruding from his body. The amount of blood and the immediate reaction to the hit told Danny that the knife had most probably hit a kidney and that Chang was already beyond help; not that Danny really cared about the fate of his former captor.

Danny registered every little detail in the blink of an eye but it was the pained moan from Steve's position that froze the blood in his veins and made him leap into action. Quickly struggling free he grimaced in disgust when he shifted Chang's dead body from his legs, jumping to his feet just in time to see Steve's leg buckling.

McGarrett slowly slid down the wall, clutching a heavily bleeding wound on his left thigh where one of Chang's stray bullets had unfortunately hit him. But before Danny could even think of rushing to his partner's side he once more heard the telltale sound of a cocking weapon, this time somewhere behind him, and he gritted his teeth about his own stupidity. How on earth could he have forgotten that there was a second gun-wielding idiot around?

Stopping dead in his tracks, Danny briefly closed his eyes and swallowed down his rising panic before he slowly raised his hands and hesitantly turned around, wincing heavily when another shot rang loudly through the dusty storehouse.

* * *

For a long moment Danny just stood there, not really knowing what had just happened.

He stared at the growing bloodstain on Pauly's right shoulder, watching wide-eyed how the gun dropped from the other man's limp fingers. Only slowly he realized that people filled the building and when he belatedly heard the shouts of "Five-0" and "HPD" he finally breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Just in time," he murmured, raising his head to look at his two teammates.

Kono's dark eyes narrowed dangerously when she took in Danny's beaten form and the blood on his face and his shirt but when she looked him in the eyes she grinned happily at him, at the same time handcuffing the blond mechanic, totally ignoring the cries of pain and the rude curses he uttered when the young woman jostled his injured shoulder.

Chin also didn't say a word but he briefly placed a hand on Danny's shoulder as he walked past him, making sure that Chang was no longer a threat and that little comforting touch pulled Danny forcefully from his lethargy.

"Steve," he puffed out breathlessly, whirling around to rush to his partner's side.

His injured left hand pressed against his chest Danny crouched down next to McGarrett and the very last bit of energy fled his body when he noticed that Steve was more or less alright. The gunshot wound was still bleeding sluggishly but it seemed not to be as bad as Danny had feared, just a deep graze at the side of Steve's thigh.

Plopping down next to Steve, Danny mirrored his posture, also leaning his back against the wall as he blinked tiredly. Danny turned his head to throw another glance at his friend, finding that his face was still pale and his breathing a bit too laborious but all things considered Steve looked a little bit more awake than before.

"Good shot," Danny praised quietly, weakly pointing at Chang's dead body before he hesitantly started to grin.

Silently grinning back, Steve let his gaze travel over Danny's wounds and the smile vanished when he took a closer look at the swollen and abused left hand. "That looks painful," he said sympathetically, much too tired to form a longer sentence.

"Hurts like a bitch," Williams replied, clipped and to the point, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the wall.

"Uhm, sorry guys," Kono's voice interrupted their awkward little conversation and when Danny opened his eyes he saw her looking down at them in a mixture of worry and amusement. "I think there are two gentlemen who might be of use."

And before Steve or Danny knew what was happening two paramedics appeared behind Kono, immediately kneeling down and starting to assess their injuries.

"Sir, do you want me to give you something for the pain?" the paramedic who worked on Danny asked as he carefully immobilized Danny's left hand by fastening the whole forearm to his chest, wrapping a long white bandage around his arm and upper body.

"Oh God, yes please," Danny exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, glaring mildly at Chin and Kono who both chuckled slightly at his comment. He didn't care that his little outburst made him sound like an addict and he was far too exhausted to come up with a proper reaction so he just watched detachedly how the dark-haired paramedic prepared a small syringe, wrapped a tourniquet around his bicep and swiped the crook of his arm with antiseptic to prepare the injection site. Tensing his muscles when the young man skillfully inserted the needle Danny soon felt a cold sensation flooding his veins; he closed his eyes once more and only one or two minutes later he sighed in relief and gratitude when the pain finally retreated to a dull throbbing in his left pinky and ring finger.

The many voices around him created a somewhat soothing background noise and it would have been easy to just keep his eyes closed and go to sleep. But before he allowed his body and mind to relax completely Danny needed to know how Steve was doing. The Sodium Pentothal had certainly affected Steve more than he would admit and when Danny turned his head and saw Steve just accepting an oxygen mask without any objection he knew that his partner was obviously far from feeling good.

Taking a deep breath Danny hissed out the air in a long sigh before he lightly nudged his shoulder against Steve's upper arm. "You alright?" he asked quietly but before Steve was able to give an answer Danny felt a cell phone vibrating against his right thigh.

Tiredly pulling the small device out of his pocket he stared at it for a long moment until he remembered that he'd left his own phone next to the toolbox before he finally threw the black iPhone in his partner's lap.

"It's yours," Williams said, smirking humorlessly when he recognized the caller's ID. "I think it's the Governor. Just do me a favor and don't answer, okay?"

For a short moment Steve looked blankly at the humming phone before he inhaled deeply and then slowly dropped his left hand, pulling the oxygen mask away from his face.

"Sir, would you please keep the mask on?" the second paramedic said, his dark voice sounding slightly annoyed when he glared first at the phone in Steve's hands and then at Steve's pale face.

"Just a moment," McGarrett replied hoarsely, flashing a wry smile as he raised his hand to interrupt the paramedic.

Not only Danny, Chin and Kono but also the two paramedics stared at him in open surprise when he actually answered the call and pressed the phone to his right ear.

"Seriously?" Danny murmured quietly with a shake of his head. "You're really gonna answer that?"

"Yes, Governor?" Steve asked politely, ignoring Danny's interjection as he listened to Denning's words at the other end of the line. "I understand," Steve said about half a minute later, a fake smile coloring his voice. "It was a pleasure."

"It was a pleasure?" Danny repeated the last sentence after Steve had ended the call, a deep frown on his forehead when he stared at his friend in utter disbelief. "And would you mind telling me what exactly was a pleasure, you animal? Did you find it funny that we almost got killed? Or that those two freaks drugged you to hell and back and that they broke two of my fingers?" Tiredly waving his right hand through the air he briefly pointed his index finger at Steve before he dropped his hand back to his lap. "You're such an animal."

"You already said that, Danno," Steve chuckled quietly before he looked up at Chin and Kono as he explained what he'd just learned on the phone. "The Governor just informed me that Mrs. Victory has decided to postpone her visit to Hawaii," he said, making a short pause to catch his breath. Pointedly looking at each of his team members Steve added quietly, "but Denning wanted to thank us for our commitment in this unusual case."

"So, it was all for nothing? Our visit here was all in vain?" Danny shook his head after Steve's words had finally penetrated his sluggish thoughts. "Well, except for the little fact that we busted a ring of drug runners of course." Narrowing his eyes he threw his partner a scrutinizing look. "But you haven't told the Governor about that, have you? No, of course you haven't."

Sagging back against the wall behind him he watched how Steve slightly shrugged his shoulders and grinned sheepishly before the paramedic barged in and firmly placed the oxygen mask once more over Steve's mouth and nose.

"Oh, I understand," Danny said, putting the last of his strength in a weak little rant. "It was just a walk in the park for you, right? Nothing to speak of in front of the Governor, just another little adventure in your crazy, twisted SEAL universe…"

Danny's voice trailed off when he saw the goofy grin on Steve's face and heard the soft chuckle from Chin and Kono. "Animals, all of you," he huffed out grumpily but he couldn't help the hesitant smile that slowly spread across his own face, yet if anyone ever asked he would definitely blame it on the morphine that circulated in his bloodstream.

"And you know what?" he added quietly after a moment of silent contemplation, raising his right hand and wagging his index finger to emphasize his words. "For my own safety, I have just decided that I will never ever answer a telephone that rings before breakfast – and I don't care if it's a call from you, Steven, or from the Governor or from the President himself."


End file.
